The Hokage's Will
by inukagome15
Summary: Sometimes he wonders why he's still alive when so many others have fallen. When others deserve the chances that keep falling into his lap that he hasn't earned. But Kakashi has never been one to quit, not when so many lives depend on the choices he makes. At least he isn't alone in this. He does have the number one unpredictable shinobi on his side.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't know about the summary, but...*proceeds to throw words at screen***

 **In any case, this is a heavily self-indulgent fic for me. (Most fics are, really, but time travel fics even more so.) I've been a long time fan of _Naruto_ but I've never actually written anything for it. And Kakashi is my all-time favorite character, so I'm indulging myself _hardcore_ with this fic. (Guess who the asexual character is going to be.)**

 **On that note, there will be no romance here. Time-travel makes romance kind of skeevy unless you're talking about shipping two adults together, and the two adults in question who are going back in time are not getting together for a myriad of reasons.**

 **The story isn't complete. I've only just kind of gotten it lifted off the ground, and I have the barest idea of where I'm going with it, so I guess people should have their seat belts ready? It's not really my thing nowadays to post fics that are just getting started, but so long as there's interest I'll try and keep updates somewhat regular.**

 **There are going to be a lot of characters who show up, but the story will primarily be focused on Kakashi and Naruto.**

 **I don't do character bashing, so all characters will get a fair shaking. Or a mostly fair shaking.**

 **We'll get some glimpses into what happened, but I'm gonna try and leave it mostly up in the air. I know where the major canon divergence occurs, and I'm gonna have hints sporadically dropped as to what happened. Either way, it doesn't happen like in the manga. For one, I refuse to put in Kaguya. Because _what_.**

 **Summary:** Sometimes he wonders why he's still alive when so many others have fallen. When others deserve the chances that keep falling into his lap that he hasn't earned. But Kakashi has never been one to quit, not when so many lives depend on the choices he makes. At least he isn't alone in this. He does have the number one unpredictable shinobi on his side.

* * *

 **The Hokage's Will**

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

Consciousness came swiftly. It usually did for him, a habit ingrained from years of fighting and dangerous missions.

But not so usually, he didn't immediately recognize where he was. The sounds were different (yet familiar?), the smells weren't what he was accustomed to (but brought a rush of achingly familiar memories he had no desire to examine), and he was lying in a bed.

When was the last time he had been in a bed?

He couldn't remember.

Keeping his breathing even and eyes closed, he evaluated his current physical state. His chakra was lower than expected, although it seemed rather lopsided in terms of what he had available. Yet he wasn't exhausted, and no injuries made themselves known.

He was alone, too. Another first for a long time.

Carefully opening his right eye, he noted that he was in a rather familiar looking bedroom. Turning his head to the side confirmed his suspicions when he saw his old team picture resting on the window sill directly above his head.

But there was no plant.

Sitting up and letting the blankets pool around his waist, one Hatake Kakashi rubbed a hand over his mouth as he tried to remember just what had happened.

A glance out the window confirmed that Konoha was in one piece and peaceful. The moon – what he could see of it through the clouds – was silver. Or maybe slightly yellowish if he squinted. But it wasn't red and marked with the terrifying tomoes of the Rinnegan.

That ruled out the dreaded genjutsu that they'd scrambled to avoid.

It didn't rule out other types of genjutsu, but Kakashi had the niggling suspicion he was forgetting something.

He wasn't panicking – it would be beneath him to panic – but his heart was beating faster than normal and his muscles were tensed. The last thing he remembered was that they'd been camping in a cave, taking rest that they desperately needed.

Had they been ambushed?

Kakashi had thought he'd made the proper preparations so that wouldn't happen, but it wouldn't be the first time that he'd made that mistake. Someone else could have slacked off when he hadn't paid attention – that had happened before.

But…no. He would remember that, wouldn't he?

Kakashi didn't think he was dead.

Life wasn't kind enough for that.

Then…?

Slowly getting out of bed, Kakashi stood, walking past the desk set against the wall and into the bathroom. His body felt better than it had before, aches and pains that he'd grown used to now gone.

Flipping the light on, Kakashi waited for his sight to adjust before looking in the mirror.

His face didn't look like it should. It was too young, lines gone that should be there and the scar over his left eye more vivid than he remembered.

His face was wrong, his body was wrong, the room was wrong (and yet not?), and he was alone—

 _"We can't go back further than the night I was born. We probably won't even manage_ ** _that_** _."_

 _"Do we even know when we'll land?"_

 _"It'll be far enough to make some kind of difference."_

 _"Are you sure about that?"_

 _"Ah, sensei…anything's good, isn't it? But it's going to be you, so I know it'll work."_

 _"So much faith in me?"_

 _"Well, yeah. It's you. And it's me. And with Octopops also giving chakra, it'll send us back far enough that we can swing it."_

 _"…It'll work?"_

 _"…Never been tried before, but that's my specialty, isn't it? Not like we've got anything to lose."_

No, they hadn't had anything to lose. And so…were they actually _here_?

Kakashi stumbled back, hit the wall, and slid down, hands pressed against his eyes as he struggled to calm his breathing. His chest was too tight, heart pounding loudly in his ears.

The disorientation hadn't been expected, but then they'd had no idea what it would be like. Or that it would even work.

A fool's gambit, but Kakashi had been desperate enough to agree to it.

Another shudder ran through him before he could stop it, but it wasn't as difficult to breathe now.

He needed to be sure that he wasn't alone in this.

Getting back to his feet, Kakashi stared at his reflection for a few seconds longer before turning away and switching the light off. Looking at his face wouldn't help him pinpoint when in time he was.

He was younger. That much he knew. Early twenties possibly? That depended on if he had his ANBU outfit, but even then that didn't narrow it down much further.

He'd been in ANBU far too long, breaking records for the longest tenure in ANBU. Which wasn't necessarily something to be proud of. It also made narrowing down a time period more difficult.

Surely he had a calendar up?

Or was this still that period of time when he'd been trying to ignore all passage of time and drowning himself in missions?

A look around the place confirmed that yes, he was in ANBU. And no, he did not have a calendar. Sadly.

Kakashi would need to fix that.

He didn't even know if he had anything planned for tomorrow.

Well, his habitual tardiness would be good for something other than annoying people, he supposed.

Rubbing a hand over the back of his head, Kakashi took stock of his supplies. There was no way he'd just gotten back from a mission unless it was a routine patrol.

It was entirely possible that this was one of those times where he didn't have any missions scheduled for a few days. The Sandaime had been like that when Kakashi had gone too far.

Nothing told him what year it was.

Sighing, Kakashi changed into something more suitable to wandering the rooftops of Konoha, pulling up his mask. He needed to check on Naruto.

Naruto would either be in the orphanage or in an apartment. That depended entirely on when they were.

Perching on the windowsill, Kakashi closed his eyes and took stock of where he could sense Naruto's chakra. It wasn't in the direction of the orphanage, so that already narrowed it down to after Naruto had turned five. So Kakashi was at least nineteen.

He jumped off the roof, only to find himself flying in a burst of tile when too much chakra went into it. Overshooting his goal, Kakashi managed to land on the edge of the next roof, nearly sliding off entirely in shock.

Tile crunched under his feet as he used chakra to maintain his position, and he almost fell off entirely when his feet slipped with the movement.

Shit, what was that about?

Glancing back in the direction he had come from, Kakashi couldn't make out anything that would have tripped him up or propelled him further than expected. Which meant…

Fuck, how badly was his chakra control messed up?

Hesitating briefly, Kakashi took a moment to focus a brief amount of chakra before jumping again. He instantly knew it had been too little, barely getting enough lift to clear the street before he found his face on a collision course with the edge of the next roof.

Throwing a hand out, Kakashi grabbed hold of the edge, using the leverage to swing sideways and up, landing in a crouch.

Okay…breathe.

Kakashi took a moment, closing his eyes and focusing on what he could feel of his chakra.

There was too much for this age. He knew that much. It also felt slightly different, but he couldn't quite evaluate what about it felt different without some meditation. This wasn't the time for that.

Exhaling sharply, Kakashi stood, eye on the rest of the distance he had to travel to get to Naruto.

No ANBU were around, and the streets were quiet.

In other words, he could experiment a little further before he would need to start getting really sneaky.

* * *

Five minutes later, Kakashi had collected several bruises and scrapes from incidents he would prefer not to recall. Thankfully the only witness had been a stray cat that had been rather put out at having Kakashi fall into the dumpster it had been scrounging from.

Kakashi couldn't remember ever falling into a dumpster before. It annoyed him.

Landing lightly on the street that was close to Naruto's building, Kakashi slid into a shadow and evaluated his surroundings.

There were only two ANBU on guard, which was expected from his memories of Naruto's childhood. He'd been on the guard roster a few times himself when not on outside missions.

They were the only times he'd been able to get close to Naruto.

Shaking his head lightly, Kakashi refocused on his current task: sneaking past the guard and into the apartment. It would be easier if he had perfect control of his chakra. As it stood, he'd have to rely on good old-fashioned sneaking around.

Those skills didn't really rely on flashy chakra.

With one last breath, Kakashi withdrew fully into the shadows and moved.

Another shinobi might have worried about sneaking past ANBU, but Kakashi was familiar with their techniques. And he'd snuck through worst situations.

It took several patient minutes, but Kakashi managed to slip into the building unnoticed. He should be upset that it was so easy, but he had years of experience that these ANBU didn't. And he didn't want to be prevented from seeing Naruto until he graduated from the Academy or was an adult.

Aside from his personal feelings, it would put a dent in their plans.

Stopping before Naruto's door, Kakashi took another breath, reaching out to knock. The door opened before he made contact, and he was looking into the young face of one Uzumaki Naruto, blue eyes wide and lips trembling.

An endless moment passed before the silence was broken with a strained whisper. "Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi loosened his posture, giving Naruto a familiar smile that usually put him at ease. "Ah, Naruto. Good to see you made it."

Naruto didn't respond, grabbing hold of the edge of Kakashi's shirt and hauling him in. He closed the door quietly, drawing the deadbolt before turning to Kakashi.

Naruto was trembling faintly, eyes shining suspiciously in the little light that his small apartment had. He slumped back against the door, wiping at his face with an arm. "You took your time getting here," he muttered, breath hitching.

Kakashi glanced at the windows, double-checking that the curtains were drawn and the ANBU couldn't see inside. He kept his chakra tamped down just in case; he wasn't entirely sure who it was monitoring Naruto.

He crouched down in front of Naruto, bringing them on the same level. It had been a very long time since Naruto had been this small.

"I was a little disoriented," Kakashi said quietly, waiting for Naruto to compose himself.

Naruto dropped his arm, mouth twisted unhappily. "Yeah?"

Kakashi dipped his chin in a nod. "How are you?"

"Fine." Naruto folded his arms over his chest, which would have been far more intimidating if he'd been an adult and not a small child. Kakashi had to resist the urge to reach out and ruffle his hair; it wasn't the time. "I…for a moment I thought it didn't work. That you hadn't made it."

"Ah…well, I'm here now, aren't I?"

There was a snort, and then Naruto grinned wryly. "Late as always, huh? You're never gonna be on time."

Kakashi did reach out to ruffle Naruto's hair this time, standing as he did. "I have legitimate reasons for being late."

Naruto peered up at him. "What was it this time?"

"Disorientation," Kakashi replied dryly. "It took me a little to remember what happened."

"That's…actually a good excuse?" Naruto sounded slightly put out that he couldn't decry Kakashi for being a liar.

"Ahh, don't sound like that's such a surprise." Kakashi grinned down at him, warmth kindling in his chest at the familiar banter with his student.

Naruto grinned back, eyes crinkling. He sobered a few seconds later, grin disappearing. "You've got a plan?"

Kakashi hummed, rocking back on his heels. Plan. Did he have a plan? "How far back did we go?" he asked instead.

"You don't know?"

"You're at least five since you're in an apartment, but I can't narrow it down any further than that. Small kids all look the same."

"Hey!" Naruto squawked. "They do _not_!"

Kakashi tilted his head, amusement curling in his chest. For once, there was little guilt associated with it. They had the time to banter like this, even if it was in the dark of the night and in whispers to avoid the detection of the ANBU. "How old are you again?"

Naruto pouted, nose wrinkling. "We look different," he grumbled, shoulders slouching. A second later, he sighed, glancing in the direction of the kitchen. "This is my first apartment. It was good until the kitchen exploded." His grin was sheepish. "The old man was a little better about making sure I knew what I was doing in the kitchen for the second apartment. So…" He narrowed his eyes in thought. "I'm five or six."

Kakashi was rather curious as to how Naruto had managed to explode a kitchen. "Do I want to know?"

"Ehh…you shouldn't let five-year-olds cook when they've never done it before?" Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head with that same sheepish grin.

There was definitely a point there. That was not to say five-year-olds _couldn't_ cook unsupervised. Kakashi had done so after his father committed suicide, but even he could admit that he hadn't been a _normal_ child.

Naruto was…well, regardless of Naruto's heritage and his status as a jinchuuriki, he was far more normal than Kakashi had been at five.

So the kitchen exploding was probably not the worst thing that could have happened.

Kakashi nodded in acknowledgement. "Five or six?"

"I dunno exactly," Naruto muttered, eyes squinting in that tic that meant he was disgruntled but didn't want to show it. "Hm…" He scratched his nose. "Wait, I might have something…"

Walking past Kakashi, Naruto disappeared into a room off to the side. Kakashi took the opportunity to investigate the kitchen and make sure that it wasn't likely to explode anytime soon.

One never knew.

"It's five," Naruto said a minute later, voice quiet enough that even Kakashi had to strain his ears.

Kakashi turned, carefully nudging into place one of the heating coils on the stove. "Sure about that?"

Naruto was standing in the doorway of the room, his only response a small nod. Then, "Why's it so important to know it exactly?"

Naruto may not have done much when he was five or six, but Kakashi had been neck deep in ANBU at nineteen and twenty. The Uchiha massacre would happen in about three years if nothing was done, and three years was more time to work with than one.

Especially if Naruto's chakra control was as shot as Kakashi's at the moment.

Which needed to be evaluated.

"Information's important," Kakashi answered simply. He checked the clock in the kitchen, seeing that it was two at night. "Think you're capable of sneaking past the guards?"

Naruto brightened, a sly grin crossing his face. "You kidding me, sensei?" His voice sounded gleeful. "Maybe not when I was _actually_ five, but heck yeah!" Spinning on his heel, Naruto darted back through the doorway.

Curious, Kakashi followed, peeking in to see that Naruto was setting up his bed so that it looked like a person was using it. There was even something bright yellow poking out of the covers.

"No chakra, hm?" Kakashi glanced around the sparsely decorated bedroom. Just about the only thing that signaled anyone was living in it were the clothes on the floor.

"Less chance of getting found out," Naruto answered, fluffing the pillow one last time before stepping back to evaluate his work. He gave a satisfied nod and then turned towards Kakashi. "C'mon."

The door was locked behind them, and the two quietly made their way out of the building. Kakashi gripped Naruto's shoulder before he could try and jump on a roof, guiding him in the opposite direction of the ANBU. Given the fiasco _Kakashi_ had made when traveling across roofs, he didn't want to know how Naruto would do.

"Kakashi?" Naruto looked up at him curiously.

"In a bit," Kakashi reassured him quietly.

Once he was certain that they were far away enough from the ANBU to not worry about getting caught, Kakashi crouched to let Naruto jump on his back. Then, without another word, he left for a discreet and familiar training ground.

There were less incidents now, largely because Kakashi was doing his damn best not to embarrass himself in front of Naruto.

That said, his chakra didn't feel normal, and he was relatively sure that he'd damaged every single rooftop that he'd landed on. At least no one would pin the damages on him and make him pay for it.

Naruto jumped off Kakashi's back, eyeing the three training posts with a nostalgic expression. "We're really back," he breathed.

"Hm." Kakashi glanced back to the memorial stone, chest squeezing tightly at the sight.

"So, sensei…" Naruto turned back to him with a keen look in his eyes. "What's the first thing we're gonna be doing? We can't just go after Akatsuki now."

Not for the first time, Kakashi was glad that Naruto had outgrown most of his more impulsive tendencies. Naruto wouldn't be Naruto without acting first and then thinking, but he tended to think more now.

"Climb trees," Kakashi answered, grinning under his mask at the appalled look Naruto shot him.

Naruto gave an incredulous shriek that had Kakashi's sensitive ears ringing. "Climb trees?! Do I look twelve to you?!"

"Five," Kakashi responded cheerfully.

Naruto's expression said he'd run right into that answer and deserved it. His tone was more reasonable when he spoke next. "Seriously? Tree climbing? That's the first thing we're doing?"

Kakashi sobered, dipping his chin in a nod. "What we can do depends on this next step, Naruto. I need to see where we're at. So, tree climbing." He pointed to the nearest tree. "Chop, chop."

Naruto glanced between him and the tree, frowning. "Are you going to do it?"

"Yes." Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate up, uncovering his Sharingan. "But I need to see you so I have a better idea of what's happening here."

"Wait – what's happening?" Naruto looked alarmed, and Kakashi could see his chakra swirling to match.

It also looked stranger than normal.

Kakashi folded his arms, a suspicion niggling at him. "I'll have a better answer once you start climbing."

Shooting Kakashi another look that said he expected answers sooner rather than later, Naruto headed to a tree.

His chakra focused briefly before he started up, and a split-second was all the warning Kakashi had before there was a violent explosion of bark, throwing Naruto back.

Kakashi darted in to catch Naruto before he could hurt himself, half his attention on his stunned student and the other on the hole in the tree.

Naruto flailed out of Kakashi's grip. "What the hell was _that_?"

"Try it one more time," Kakashi said in lieu of an actual answer. "This time a little more slowly."

"Damn right," Naruto muttered, running a hand through his blond hair. He marched back to the tree he had blown a hole in, his furious stance mitigated by the fact that he was physically five years old.

Well, it'd be magnitudes more intimidating once he was older.

This time Kakashi could see Naruto molding the chakra more carefully, and he was better able to see what wasn't right. There seemed to be an _imbalance_.

When Naruto stepped on the tree again, Kakashi could see how the chakra seemed to focus for an instant before it veered out of control. This time when Naruto went flying backwards, Kakashi was faster and gentler in catching him.

"Was that enough to say what's wrong?" Naruto demanded, remaining still in Kakashi's hold. " _You're_ not having this problem!"

"Ah…" Kakashi let out a small laugh, setting Naruto down. "I wouldn't say that… It's why I asked you to do this, since I needed to see if it was just me."

"I haven't seen you blown any holes in trees, sensei," Naruto said grumpily.

"I don't have nearly enough chakra to manage _that_." Kakashi covered his Sharingan, thinking. "Do you remember what chakra is?"

"Eh?" Naruto looked up at him incredulously. "C'mon, Kakashi- _sensei_ , that's elementary stuff!"

Kakashi smiled down at him. "Then you should be able to give me a basic rundown of such an elementary concept."

"Agh, fine." Naruto scratched the back of his head. "It's the energy we use to do jutsu. Or climb trees and walk on water."

"That's…not wrong." Kakashi resisted the urge to sigh. "It's a mixture of physical and mental energies. Senjutsu chakra, which you get from gathering natural energy, is another type of chakra that isn't inherent to our physical bodies. But right now we're focused on our chakra, and I wouldn't try to do anything related to senjutsu considering what's going on."

"What – what is it?"

"A mixture of the physical and mental," Kakashi repeated. "That's what chakra is. Physical energies are related to our bodies and stamina. If a person has poor stamina, that affects their chakra. Then there's the mental, which is affected by our experiences. _Life_ experiences. Right now, Naruto, we're approximately seventeen years in the past. That's seventeen years of life experiences that our physical bodies haven't been able to keep up with. Our chakras are imbalanced." He paused, making a frustrated noise. "And I've no idea how to fix it."

"Um…" Naruto looked blank. "Okay. I think I get it."

Kakashi was familiar enough with Naruto's expression to know that he did _not_ get it, but Kakashi hadn't expected him to. Naruto would always be more of a kinesthetic learner, no matter how many years of experience he had under his belt.

"Think of it this way," Kakashi said after another moment's thought. "Your body is a bucket. It gets bigger every time you grow or exercise. At the same time, you're filling that bucket with water and it's always the same amount. But what happens when the bucket suddenly shrinks? The water's still there, and it's still coming in."

" _Oh_." Naruto's eyes widened. "So how are we going to get our buckets back up to size?"

Kakashi couldn't resist a small smile. "That's the problem. Your bucket will eventually return to its old size, but in the meantime the water level keeps increasing. You're always learning, Naruto. That doesn't ever stop. Right now…we've got the bucket sizes of our current bodies, but the water levels of our future selves, and that won't change."

"Then what can we do?" Naruto asked, frowning. "Are you saying we're screwed?"

Kakashi didn't answer immediately, eye narrowed in thought. "Let me try something."

He picked out another tree, coming up to its base and pausing to mold his chakra. He automatically reached for his usual amount, noting how it felt.

Then, carefully, he tried to filter out the imbalanced nature.

It was difficult.

Eventually, Kakashi thought he'd gotten the right balance, and he opened his eye and set a foot on the trunk. It stuck without any issues.

Most of his attention on keeping his chakra in that balanced state that felt terribly _unbalanced_ right now, Kakashi continued walking up the tree.

He managed four steps before his focus slipped and the bark splintered under his foot. It took a second for him to rebalance his chakra, and in the meantime he'd jumped up a few inches and retained his balance on the tree.

Another two steps, and his chakra revolted again, this time slipping through his grasp altogether. His next step slid right off the bark entirely, and his other foot lost its grasp as well.

Kakashi let himself fall, landing lightly on his feet.

His head hurt slightly, but otherwise he wasn't strained. But that had taken a _lot_ of focus.

He was basically at a genin's chakra control level, which was _abysmal_. He suspected Naruto's was even worse considering his usual levels of chakra control.

"You didn't make any holes," Naruto muttered when Kakashi turned back to him.

Kakashi chose to ignore the comment. "It's doable," he said. "But it's going to take practice to learn how to rebalance our chakra. In the meantime, I think both of us will need to train our physical bodies so that it's not so difficult. You'll have an easier time of it than me."

Naruto tilted his head to the side, expression deadpan. "Sensei, was that you telling me I'm _weak_?"

Shrugging lightly in response, Kakashi poked Naruto's forehead. "You tell me."

Naruto scowled, glancing at the tree Kakashi had used. "Can you teach me what you just did?"

"It takes a lot of chakra control," Kakashi said slowly. "Essentially, instead of simply taking the first amount of chakra you can, you need to rebalance the physical and mental energies so that they're equal."

"So I'm emptying the bucket out until it's not overflowing." Naruto nodded. "Hey, it can't be that much more difficult than learning how to use senjutsu, huh?" He grinned broadly. "I'll figure it out."

Lifting a hand in a familiar seal, Naruto paused before doing the jutsu. "Ah, sensei…do you think kage bunshin is still doable?"

Kakashi certainly wasn't going to try, but Naruto had a great deal more chakra than him, even at five. "The reason you couldn't manage a regular bunshin was because of your poor chakra control and how much of it you had. Kage bunshin is a different matter. If something goes wrong, I'm here."

Naruto nodded, then brought his other hand up to make the cross seal that he hadn't used in years. "Just in case," he said under his breath, although loudly enough that Kakashi could still hear. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

There was a brief moment where nothing happened and Kakashi thought that was probably the mildest reaction one could have to a jutsu not working. Then the familiar smoke cloud formed, only this time it was accompanied by a violent flare of chakra that had Kakashi instinctively fleeing the scene before it could hurt him.

It sounded like dozens of bunshin had been popped at once, accompanied by a sudden release of chakra.

Kakashi paused on the branch he'd landed on, body smarting from the shunshin that he'd instinctively thrown himself into. He was lucky that _he_ hadn't hurt himself with that; using chakra for a high-movement jutsu wasn't advisable when one's chakra control was shot to hell.

He was going to have to do _so much training_ to fix this.

It certainly put their plans on indefinite postponement for the meantime.

When Kakashi sensed the chakra dying down, he focused on carefully balancing his chakra appropriately before doing shunshin again to go to Naruto's side. This time his body didn't hurt, although he slipped slightly on the landing.

The smoke had cleared, which gave Kakashi an unobstructed view of a passed out Naruto.

Heart skipping several agonizing beats, Kakashi crouched to check Naruto's pulse, breath rushing out in a relieved exhale when he found it. Another moment's investigation showed the cause of what had happened: chakra exhaustion.

Which…was utterly surprising. Kakashi could count on both his hands the number of times Naruto had suffered from _chakra exhaustion_.

But he would be fine.

Sighing, Kakashi picked Naruto up, carefully focused on balancing his chakra, and moved into a shunshin that would bring him into Konoha proper.

He had some planning to do before Naruto woke up.

* * *

It was five in the morning when Kakashi noticed Naruto beginning to stir. Checking briefly that everything seemed to be in order and Naruto wasn't going to wake up swinging, Kakashi returned his eye to the timeline that he had written out.

There was a lot of information, but there was also too _little_ information. And far too much speculation for his taste.

Kakashi had a lot of information on what had happened in the village around this time, but it was all from verbal reports that had been twisted and skewed through time. How much did Sasuke really know of what Itachi had done? How much had Obito known that hadn't been twisted by his biased view of Konoha and what Madara had told him?

And Orochimaru?

The man was a veritable black hole of information around this time. He was already gone from the village. Kakashi had no idea where he was now, only that the Sannin had been a member of Akatsuki at one point.

Jiraiya's spy network would come in handy now, but Kakashi had no means of getting his hands on it.

"Urgh…" Naruto groaned, rolling over onto his side. He was squinting blearily at Kakashi. "What happened?"

"Chakra exhaustion," Kakashi answered bluntly. "What do you remember?"

Naruto slowly sat up, rubbing a hand over his face. "I overpowered the jutsu," he said slowly. "The bunshin blew up. Shit," he sighed.

Kakashi hummed in agreement. "Looks like you'll be getting your chakra control back the slow way." It was difficult to picture. Naruto had never really been slow at anything.

" _Damn_ it." Naruto punched the mattress, glaring furiously. "We can't do _anything_. What's the use of coming back this far if we're fucked because of our _chakra_?" He fisted his hands in his hair, knuckles white. "Is it all going to be for nothing? We came back and there's _nothing_ we can do! We're stuck!"

" _Naruto_ ," Kakashi snapped.

The boy shut up instantly, eyes flicking to Kakashi. His cheeks looked slightly flushed, his breath coming unevenly.

"It's a minor setback," Kakashi said once he was sure he had Naruto's undivided attention. "But it's nothing we can't handle. We have the time we need to make sure that it won't be a problem." He leaned forwards. "You're not alone in this. Neither of us are." He gave Naruto a smile, eye closing instinctively so his student could see it. "We can do this."

Naruto's jaw tightened, and he nodded crisply, eyes determined. "Yes, Hokage-sama." His smile was sly, filled with a fire that had been missing before.

Kakashi resisted the urge to slump in relief, instead opting for settling back in his chair. Seeing Naruto so defeated was…

Unfortunately, it had gotten to be more of a familiar sight for Kakashi, although they seemed to trade off on who would be depressed. This time was Kakashi's turn to try and lift Naruto's spirits, something that he never felt equipped to handle. Still, he'd always been able to manage somehow.

And if not him, then someone else would manage it.

Only now it was just Kakashi.

"I'm not your Hokage," Kakashi said, though he knew nothing would come of it.

"Eh, the old man might have the hat _now_ , but you were the one who had it then," Naruto said, shrugging.

Kakashi didn't say that it had been a meaningless title towards the end, only good for raising some kind of morale. After all, what use was a Hokage without Konohagakure?

Naruto had always said it didn't matter. The people were there, so Kakashi was Hokage. And then _he'd_ be Hokage as soon as Kakashi would hand the hat over so he'd better do a good job with it! And Kakashi had better not die either.

Now…Kakashi technically wasn't Hokage anymore, but he had been responsible for the survivors of Konoha and the Shinobi Alliance after a certain point. He had been that leader, that protector of the Will of Fire that the Sandaime and his successors cherished.

"So…" Naruto exhaled slowly. "The plan?"

Kakashi glanced down at the timeline, picking the sheet up so he could destroy it later. "I'm going to be gathering information today. You should focus on getting your physical stamina up; we'll meet up again tonight if I'm not sent out on a mission."

Naruto whipped around, eyes wide. "Is that a good idea? What if you're hurt?"

"Ahh…" Kakashi waved the sheet around, grinning under his mask. "Your lack of faith hurts, Naruto… It'll be fine."

He hoped.

If he died _now_ after managing to live through the hell that had been the last so many years, he was going to be pissed.

And Naruto would probably raise him from the dead just to kick his ass and kill him again.

* * *

 **I have more chapters up on my tumblr under the tag "kakashi time travel fic", although those chapters are drafts and will be edited before going up here. If you do read them on tumblr, feedback is appreciated. :)**

 **In fact, feedback is appreciated here as well. It's a motivator, and it also lets me know that people are enjoying the work.**

 **I'll update again once I have another chapter finished. I'm gonna try and shoot for something of a weekly schedule, although I can't promise that'll keep.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all for the amazing reviews! I loved hearing your feedback. A reader suggested using a seal to deal with the chakra problem, but neither Kakashi nor Naruto is a fuuinjutsu master, although they're both kind of adept at using seals. Naruto more so than Kakashi. In any case, using a seal wouldn't help fix the control issue, and Kakashi wouldn't let himself be handicapped by that in case the seal suddenly malfunctions.**

 **Anyway! Plot! That's...still a ways off? This fic is _incredibly_ self-indulgent for me (did I mention that before? I'm mentioning it again), so I'm enjoying writing the character interactions. It's not so much for the plot that I'm doing but the _characters_. The plot is a side effect. But it's going to come. Just...not in this chapter.**

 **Okay, I guess that's enough? I'm not gonna do another long author's note here. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

Information gathering wasn't Kakashi's usual mode of operation. That wasn't to say he was bad at it; it just wasn't what he normally did.

Especially not without some kind of assassination to finish it with.

Which, if all went well now, would actually be happening. It just wouldn't be happening for a while.

And it probably wouldn't be an assassination considering their enemy. Their enemies generally preferred flashy, so Kakashi would inevitably end up being flashy as well. (That his signature jutsu was loud and chirpy didn't mean anything. Especially since the advanced version didn't chirp; it just crackled.)

But regardless. Simply gathering information wasn't a mission Kakashi did often, and it wasn't something he'd done outside of a battle in years. And this time he wasn't scouting for information on an enemy's tactics or weaknesses.

No, he was trying to figure out the exact date and what the current political climate was. And how much time he had before he'd be sent out on another mission.

As ANBU, he couldn't afford to have his messy chakra control compromise anything.

His next mission could be anywhere from today to several days from now, and he had absolutely no idea when. That was the life of a shinobi, but it peeved him now because he couldn't be caught off guard.

Was he even off guard?

Kakashi paused in the middle of strapping his tantou on as he considered that. Then he shook his head and disregarded the question as nonsensical.

Truth be told, Kakashi couldn't remember when he'd last had the luxury of being off guard. There was probably some time that he'd been able to relax somewhat, but it was so long ago that it was a distant memory.

Even here, he had to watch his back and make sure that everything ran smoothly. Although there was less chance of an attack by white Zetsu clones that could rapidly annihilate everything they came into contact with.

Yeah, that was an issue that Kakashi was very glad to not have to worry about for now.

Mindless clones they might have been, but there was a point where hundreds of mindless clones became too much to handle. Especially if those clones started eating chakra for a purpose other than shape-shifting and pretending to be an ally.

Shaking his head again briefly to clear his head, Kakashi picked up the black hooded jacket that further served to hide his identity. A mask was perfectly fine so long as one had hair that wasn't terribly distinguishable, but Kakashi's hair was anything but.

Slipping said mask on last, Kakashi turned to the window and opened it, stepping outside and closing the window behind him. He almost moved to coat his fingers in chakra and create a seal, but remembered at the last instant that it was a _bad idea_.

He would very likely blow the entire place up before actually making a barrier seal.

Yeah, no, he'd need more practice before doing anything that advanced with seals again. Which was a shame.

Kakashi had grown used to abusing that particular trick. Although practically he would always be better with ink, paper (or any flat surface – he wasn't picky), and plenty of time, he knew his basic barrier seals inside and out to the point that he just needed a few seconds and his chakra to do the trick.

They weren't much use in a fight, but they were perfect for warding off enemies when one was camping. Or hiding a force in a cave.

Not that Kakashi _needed_ to do so now. It was peacetime. Relatively speaking.

Remaining quiet, Kakashi paused on the edge of the roof, taking in the sight of an intact Konoha that was brimming with life. It was a familiar sight, one that had his throat aching. When was the last time he had been able to see this?

How had he _not_ seen this before? Because Kakashi hadn't, not like this. Not in a way where he could take in how the rising sun seemed to illuminate Konoha and turn it _alive_. Not in a way that highlighted the people traversing the streets and living their lives, trusting in the shinobi to keep them safe.

Not in a way where he could see the brightness Konoha had, not just the shadows.

Kakashi had spent too much time in shadows. And he would be in the shadows for a while longer yet.

But for now…maybe he could enjoy this. This little moment of peace.

* * *

Apparently the tenth of October had been a few weeks ago. There weren't any signs of the festival remaining beyond some lingering flags and lights that some genin had apparently missed. Kakashi wasn't entirely sure how he'd missed that last night.

The only excuse he had was that he had been far more focused on not falling into dumpsters (which had _not_ happened) or making holes in roofs.

There were more shinobi than usual on the roofs this morning. Kakashi deliberately avoided them.

It would be a nice D-rank mission for any genin. Definitely more interesting than looking for cats that didn't want to be found.

Kakashi was probably just a little resentful that Team 7 had been landed with that mission more times than not. (Would there be a Team 7 this time? The same team? He didn't want to think about it.)

In any case, the tenth of October had recently passed. So Naruto had very likely _just_ turned five. Kakashi would need to check a calendar for the exact date, and he could find that out in the Hokage Tower.

But Naruto just turning five was a great deal better than Naruto being a few months off from turning six. It gave them more time to get their chakra under control and to plan out the smaller steps that would need to be taken.

Or sketch them out. Kakashi was hoping for at least some kind of guide so he wasn't floundering helplessly. He could wing it, but he wasn't Naruto.

Naruto somehow managed to wing everything and turn it into a miracle. Or at least not a total disaster.

Kakashi hadn't reached that level and he wasn't sure he wanted to. There were too many heart attacks involved in that line of work, and he wasn't that unpredictable. No, he'd leave that to Naruto. It was his moniker, after all.

Even if it hadn't been enough in the end.

Pulling out of his reverie, Kakashi slipped inside Hokage Tower, sticking to the shadows. Stealth was an important factor in being ANBU, even if most of the time they were rather of an open secret in Konoha. Their masks didn't exactly mean _subtle_.

Keeping an identity outside of ANBU was something else. Some people managed it, taking missions outside of the ANBU-sanctioned ones. Then there were others who sank entirely into ANBU and lived and breathed it.

Kakashi wasn't entirely sure where he fell on that line, but it was probably in the middle. He hadn't taken any missions outside of ANBU since he joined, although he was in contact with others who weren't ANBU.

They knew who he was. There was a point where it became difficult to hide identities, especially among shinobi. It was just…politely not spoken about. But he was one of the rarer cases; others remained hidden their entire ANBU career. It was difficult to keep his own identity secret when he had friends who were dead set on interacting with him whenever they could.

Anyone he encountered while wearing the mask was generally either a friendly or an enemy too busy choking on their blood to worry about the person behind the mask. His Sharingan didn't _really_ give off freakish red light despite popular conception.

Unless he made it a genjutsu…?

Sighing, Kakashi refocused on his current task. Which basically involved wandering around Hokage Tower in an aimless manner that would look purposeful to anyone else.

If he had a meeting to get to, he'd be there reasonably on time. One couldn't really be late as ANBU; that was something he'd slipped into once he'd been a jounin again.

Naruto would very likely have a stroke at the thought of Kakashi being almost _on time_.

Smiling behind his mask, Kakashi turned a corner and found himself face to face with the Hokage, politely making his presence obvious as he did. It made the ANBU guarding the Hokage less twitchy if they could sense that someone was standing there and not just have to rely on their vision.

Encountering the Hokage…wasn't unexpected. He'd been meandering this way on purpose. But…it hurt more than he'd expected.

Sarutobi had been a resurrected body the last time Kakashi had seen him walking and talking. And then Kakashi had to watch his body disintegrate because Orochimaru had finally bitten the dust.

That had been a thoroughly unpleasant surprise for everyone in the vicinity of the resurrected Hokages because the caster's death hadn't supposed to release the jutsu.

It wasn't one Kakashi wanted to repeat.

"Hokage-sama." Kakashi bowed, trying to remember how he'd behaved at this age. He hadn't really gotten into his looser persona until his twenties, right?

Damn, he hated undercover work. They weren't usually this tricky.

"Hound." Sarutobi didn't sound pleased, which could be due to a myriad of factors. Which didn't include Kakashi violating some obscure protocol that he couldn't remember. "I thought I said there would be no missions for you for at least a week."

Ah…?

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said eventually, putting a suitable amount of chastisement in his tone.

"I distinctly also remember saying that I hoped not to see you here during that time frame."

Kakashi wasn't injured. He wasn't suffering from chakra exhaustion. He didn't have any pressing obligations in the village.

What possible reason would Sarutobi have for tabling him for at least a – _oh_.

He'd had an unfortunate tendency to run back-to-back missions during this time of the year. The more dangerous the better, and it wasn't as if Sarutobi could deny him the request because Kakashi did deliver the results. But he'd always put a foot down at some point.

Apparently that point was…sometime in the last several days. Which Kakashi couldn't remember.

He supposed he was fortunate that the jutsu hadn't dropped him back in the past while he'd been on one of those missions. That would have been…bad.

As it was, he was surprised that he _wasn't_ exhausted or hurt right now. Coming off so many high intensity missions usually meant some lingering exhaustion from expending too much chakra, but maybe traveling back in time had mitigated some of the effects?

Kakashi didn't know, and that was frustrating.

"I apologize, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, keeping his head bowed. Then, carefully, he added, "I thought I could run a routine patrol."

He was relatively sure he wouldn't have taken such an order lying down before.

"Hm…" Sarutobi eyed him doubtfully. "Your dedication is admirable, Hound, but your presence isn't required today. Or within the next week. Take this time to rest. See some friends." He had a small smile on his face as he said this last bit.

It took Kakashi a moment to register what the smile was for, and then he had to resist the urge to cringe.

Right. At this age, Kakashi hadn't had people he called friends. They were more acquaintances. Gai was perhaps the most insistent one.

Inserting the appropriate amount of resentment in his tone, Kakashi bowed crisply, saying, "Understood, sir." Then, taking a brief moment to balance his chakra, Kakashi moved into a shunshin that took him out of the tower.

The landing was much smoother this time, although there was a brief backlash from his chakra once he let it fall back to its now naturally unbalanced state. His skin tingled from the whiplash.

There was no one around him, so Kakashi took his ANBU mask and his hooded jacket off, wrapping the mask up in the material before tucking it under his arm. He left the tantou as it was, glancing back at the tower as he considered what he'd managed to glean from his investigation.

A week's downtime meant time to train and get his chakra control back to some kind of normality. Even if it wasn't perfect, he could cut down the amount of time it took for him to balance it out. A second could mean the difference between life or death, and Kakashi had no plans to die anytime soon because he couldn't do a proper shunshin. Or kawarimi.

That would suck.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Kakashi began walking out of the wooded area he had taken refuge in. Once he set foot on one of the paved roads, he tucked his hands in his pockets and considered what he should do with the amount of free time that had landed in his lap.

Finding Naruto was out of the question.

Kakashi could arrange to meet up with him "accidentally," but there would be too many eyes on them. And Naruto doubtlessly had something planned for today to start his training.

Hopefully it didn't involve too much chaos.

…Who was he kidding? This was Naruto. Chaos was practically one of his names.

Turning down the way that would lead to one of the training grounds, Kakashi continued to mull over his options.

Training was the priority right now. The other priority should be to try and shift his personality slightly so that he didn't have to work so hard at being the angsty teenager that he hadn't been for years. (Someone somewhere was laughing at him; Kakashi wasn't sure why.)

How could he start with that?

It couldn't be too suspicious.

There were some Uchiha around the area here. Kakashi deliberately masked his presence so he wouldn't be too much of an eyesore.

He had no desire to field their glares and barely masked animosity.

Resisting the urge to rub at his covered eye, Kakashi discreetly left the area as quickly as possible. It did remind him to double-check what kind of drain the Sharingan had on his chakra right now considering its unbalanced state.

He hadn't noticed anything unusual last night, but then he hadn't been too focused on it. Which was a mistake considering how often he'd suffered chakra exhaustion from overusing it. He and Naruto could both have been out with chakra exhaustion, and that would have raised a whole host of awkward questions had anyone found them like that.

Yeah, Kakashi needed to check on it.

Sliding into a shunshin, Kakashi arrived at the thankfully empty training ground and dropped his jacket and bundled up ANBU mask at the base of a tree. If he wasn't mistaken, this was where Asuma's Team 10 had trained in the future. It was quiet enough for now, but that might change.

Uncovering his Sharingan, Kakashi had to focus to register the increased pull on his chakra. He was so used to it now that he barely noticed it, but he needed to pay attention.

Everything certainly _looked_ normal when he used the eye to inspect his surroundings. The drain on his chakra wasn't anything unusual either, albeit higher than he was accustomed to after years of using it. It would probably decrease once he regained his normal level of chakra control.

Initially, Kakashi hadn't been able to control the Sharingan's drain on his chakra at all. It had taken years of practice to get to the point where he could use it for longer and longer periods of time, which had mainly been due to increasing his chakra reserves than any actual skill in chakra control.

But after reuniting with Obito…

It had helped in more than one way.

The Sharingan was pulling at his unbalanced chakra in equal amounts, uncaring that his mental/spiritual chakra was so much more than his physical. It made sense since it was a doujutsu activated in times of emotional stress and then just needed a steady application of chakra to remain active.

It wasn't like one needed fine levels of chakra control to maintain it unless one was Uchiha Itachi and kept it active _all the time_.

In all fairness, Itachi had been going blind so maybe that had been a factor.

Covering the eye again, Kakashi exhaled softly as the drain on his chakra returned to normal. He'd have to practice modulating that, but first was regaining his control in general.

He didn't particularly want to accidentally activate his Mangekyou Sharingan just yet. It would land him in the hospital for sure.

Eyeing the nearest tree, Kakashi resigned himself to tree walking for the next hour or so.

If Gai were here, maybe it would at least be somewhat interesting…

* * *

About an hour later, Kakashi was fully ready to do just about anything other than tree walking. (Except maybe catch a cat.) He'd transitioned from walking up trees to jumping, working on split-second reaction timing.

Branches littered the ground, but by now Kakashi was getting better at balancing his chakra more quickly. It still wasn't perfect, but at least he could be relatively assured that he wouldn't raise suspicion because his chakra control had taken an inexplicable nose dive.

Now, if he managed to do it again later today then that would be even better.

Kakashi jumped, landed on a branch, and instantly slid into a shunshin, his destination his ANBU gear.

When he landed, there was a sensation eerily similar to having nearly been burned by a fire jutsu stinging over his skin. Clearly he wasn't as ready as he'd thought if he was messing up the balance on a shunshin.

On the other hand, he wasn't severely hurt from messing up, so Kakashi would take his victories where he could.

And he was going to leave the tree walking for a later point. Which left physical training.

With a sigh, Kakashi dropped and started doing push-ups.

Maybe the monotony of endless training was why Gai always spiced his up with ridiculous challenges? Kakashi could almost see the appeal. _Almost_.

* * *

"Ah, my eternal rival! It is invigorating to see you training so diligently!"

Kakashi finished the last kata he had been working through and smoothly turned on his heel to see a much younger Maito Gai beaming at him. His teeth gleamed threateningly.

Kakashi's heart did a painful thump in his chest, one that had him wondering for his own health. His lungs tightened, his next breaths coming with some difficulty. Even his throat rebelled, aching with an intensity that he knew would show in his voice if he spoke now.

Turning his back to Gai under the pretense of resuming his katas, Kakashi struggled to even out his breathing. It was easier once Gai was out of sight, but he could still feel the other's chakra.

Once he was sure that he could sound unaffected, Kakashi spoke. "Did you want something?"

Gai wasn't at all put out at Kakashi's nonchalant answer. "I merely wanted to see how my eternal rival was doing! I have not seen you in the village for some time!"

Considering normal nineteen-year-old Kakashi desperately tried to avoid Gai and had been on missions the past few weeks, this wasn't surprising. The current Kakashi wasn't so intent on avoiding Gai, so he hadn't gone anywhere when noticing the other's approach.

Transitioning his last kata into a spin, Kakashi turned back to Gai. This time his body didn't do anything funny when he saw his best friend's face.

"Some people have a life," Kakashi said offhandedly, trying to remember how he'd interacted with Gai when not avoiding him. It would be all too easy to fall into old patterns, but his relationship with Gai hadn't always been so casual on his part.

He didn't want to keep Gai at arm's length, but it would be strange if he suddenly started being all chummy with him.

"You're so cool, Kakashi," Gai proclaimed loudly, pointing a finger at him. "I challenge you!"

Kakashi could either flee and risk Gai challenging him at random points for the next week and get nothing done other than running away or indulge him. And…actually…this would be a good place to start with slowly shifting his personality.

"All right," Kakashi said, shrugging loosely. He rolled his shoulders, tucking a hand in a pocket.

"You can't run – what?" Gai blinked at him, surprise evident on his face.

"All right," Kakashi repeated, glad his mask covered his smile. It took an effort to keep the smile out of his voice, but somehow he succeeded.

Gai recovered remarkably quickly from his shock, striking his signature pose, teeth gleaming once more. Kakashi almost heard the _ping_. "Excellent, my rival! What shall our challenge be today? It's your pick!"

"Hm…" Kakashi tilted his head back, studying the sky as he considered the question.

He'd gone for milder challenges before, things like rock-paper-scissors or who could keep quiet the longest. He hadn't wanted to deal with Gai's exuberance and zest for life.

But now?

Well, he needed to get the training in.

"You'll help with training," he said finally, modulating his tone so that it was firmly decisive. "Taijutsu only. I'm dodging, you're attacking. If you hit me in the next thirty minutes you win."

He would have preferred first blood, but Gai wasn't going to be willing to do that. Bruises were all well and good, but blood? There was too much that could go wrong when one combined sharp, pointy weapons and two capable jounin.

Besides, dodging hits altogether required a bit more skill than blocking weapons.

To get through this, Kakashi would need to increase his speed to get to where he had been in the future. Being hurt was always too much of a liability, especially if one left blood behind. Hidan hadn't been the only enemy capable of using DNA to their own ends.

"Yosh!" Gai struck another dramatic pose, this time sliding into the first stance of his taijutsu style. "What a most youthful challenge, Kakashi! I will succeed in hitting you, and if I do not, then I will run three hundred laps around Konoha on my hands!"

Kakashi almost asked "Not five hundred?" but bit his tongue at the last second. This wasn't _his_ Gai. Not really.

"Okay," Kakashi answered instead, setting his stance so he could be ready to dodge at a moment's notice.

There was a long moment where neither moved and the only sound was that of a bird twittering.

Then Gai _moved_.

Or didn't, really.

Kakashi dodged the first strike with ease, rather puzzled at how slowly Gai was moving. Hadn't he been a lot faster?

Gai didn't telegraph his moves. He was too good for that. But Kakashi had spent years sparring with him and could read his body well enough.

Of course, that didn't matter when Gai had speed on his side and moved too fast for Kakashi to do much more than react and then strike back.

But right now Gai wasn't moving fast enough for that. He kept hitting the ground where Kakashi had been only a second before, leaving holes in the ground.

Getting hit even once would hurt.

Although it was relatively easy to dodge Gai's attacks, Kakashi was still hard-pressed to keep up the pace. In a battle of stamina, Kakashi would rarely come out on top. It just wasn't possible for him to do it. Unless he focused on nothing but physical training like Gai, but that would come with a cost for his ninjutsu.

Gai hit the ground with a strong kick, Kakashi flipping away backwards to put space between them. He crouched, pulling in strong, even breaths to maintain the flow of oxygen while he awaited Gai's next move.

When Gai attacked again, this time it was with a flurry of kicks and punches that Kakashi had to weave around, darting backwards each time.

Blocking wasn't an option. It would be a hit, and Kakashi was _not_ going to lose here.

Gai was better than him, but not _this_ Gai. This Gai was a decade too young to be Kakashi's match, even if Kakashi could see the powerhouse that he would become. The powerhouse that had been Uchiha Madara's match and paid the price for it.

And while Kakashi's body was younger than the one he had left behind, it didn't have the same stamina. He could keep up the speed with a careful application of chakra, but he occasionally misjudged the chakra balance and sent shocks of pain through his muscles.

The first time it happened, Gai's punch nearly took off his head, Kakashi's legs twitching with the misjudgment. He managed to drop and dart out of the way in time. The second it was his arms when he was flipping away, and he hit the ground with an ungraceful _oomph_ that he quickly covered with a roll to get back on his feet. The third was his chest, and his breathing stuttered, vision blackening at the edges as he struggled to recover the lost oxygen.

But Gai didn't hit him once.

When the half hour mark was over and Kakashi fled to a branch, Gai slumped against the base of the tree Kakashi was perched in, panting heavily and dripping with sweat. Kakashi was in a similar state, although his breaths were coming much harsher than Gai's, and his muscles were trembling with exertion.

Kakashi was certain he hadn't put his body through this kind of training in the past. Not something solely based on dodging without any kind of retaliation.

But he had done it. And that was an accomplishment.

"I win," Kakashi said once he'd managed to somewhat catch his breath. He sat down on the branch, dangling his legs over it while he rested his elbows on his knees, peering down at Gai.

"You do!" Gai agreed, wiping at his cheek with the side of his hand. He beamed up at Kakashi, taking his loss in stride. "That was brilliant, Kakashi! A most amazing challenge indeed! And now the score stands fifteen to twenty in your favor!"

Kakashi hummed, glad for the reminder. Then, slowly, making sure to keep his face blank and voice neutral, he said, "Next one's your pick."

Gai paused in the middle of moving into a stretch, looking up at Kakashi in barely hidden shock. Then, eyes wide and seeming to be on the verge of watering, he threw both hands up, thumbs up in his signature pose. "Yosh! You are correct, my esteemed rival! But now…" He turned on his heel, still looking up at Kakashi with that beaming grin. "I will run three hundred and fifty laps around Konoha on my hands!"

He was gone before Kakashi could ask him if it hadn't been three hundred before.

Staring after the dust that Gai had left in his wake, Kakashi ran a hand through his hair before bringing it down to cover his – the hand paused over the covered Sharingan. Had he just gone thirty minutes against Maito Gai doing nothing but dodging without his Sharingan?

Kakashi hadn't even noticed.

Was the gap so wide between them now?

Logically speaking, Kakashi had _known_ it would be different. That he was older now, had more tricks up his sleeve. That the people here weren't the ones he'd known in the future. But knowing and _knowing_ weren't the same thing.

They looked practically the same except for minor wrinkles. Kakashi had already been taken aback at Gai's lack of speed, and now the fact that he hadn't even had to use his Sharingan was just the icing on the cake.

Dropping from the tree, Kakashi stood still for a moment, evaluating his current physical state.

His chakra was still decent since he hadn't used any except for enhancing his speed, and while he was tired, it wasn't so bad that he needed to call it quits. Going half an hour with Konoha's taijutsu master was no joke, but Kakashi would need to do that and more. This was a good start.

And now…

Kakashi cast his gaze over the ruined training ground, taking in the numerous holes and rocks thrown about from Gai's attacks. It would be rude to leave it like this for other people.

Bringing his hands up, Kakashi formed the first sign for one of the earth jutsu he knew. If he was going to be trying out jutsu, he could start with one that wasn't liable to electrocute him if he got it wrong.

Fixing the training ground was just a perk.

* * *

There had been an incident where he almost beaned himself with a rock. And there was a crater hidden in the trees that he was _not_ responsible for and would deny all knowledge of if anyone accused him of having made it.

On the plus side, the training ground was now back to almost normal.

On the other, Kakashi was trying to figure out what to do with the excess rock that he'd somehow managed to pull from…somewhere. He wasn't sure how he'd managed that. It seemed more like a Naruto thing than anything he was responsible for.

Evaluating the amount of rock lying around, Kakashi thumbed at his chin, considered his chakra levels, and then ran through another sequence of seals. By the time he formed the last one, he'd hopefully balanced his chakra properly so that he could move all the rocks and dump them in the crater.

It worked marvelously, except now there was a distinct ridge in the landscape that hadn't been there before that signaled how Kakashi had dragged everything to its new home.

Earth was definitely not his natural affinity, and it showed with these jutsu.

Eh, it was good enough.

Casting the training ground one last look, Kakashi picked up his almost forgotten ANBU gear and left. There was no need to train himself into the ground, especially if he was meeting Naruto at night.

Idly, Kakashi wondered how Naruto was doing.

* * *

Elsewhere in Konohagakure, one Uzumaki Naruto had the suspicion that his sensei had just sent some nice thoughts his way. Or maybe Kakashi had wondered if Naruto was playing any pranks and if so, how bad they were.

Inspecting what he'd been able to get his hands on, Naruto had to admit that his pranks were not going to be up to their usual sense of style. Largely because he hadn't actually _pranked_ anyone in years.

The war had kind of sucked the fun out of it.

Scratching his chin as he narrowed his eyes in thought, Naruto searched for the familiar ANBU signatures that had been following him all day. They were easy enough to sneak past, but that wasn't the goal.

Nah, he'd leave the sneaking around for night when he met up with Kakashi again.

His sensei was probably being really cool and had already figured out how to balance his chakra and empty his bucket out appropriately. Naruto had yet to try considering he didn't want to freak out his ANBU handlers.

Wait, that would actually make a really good prank…

No, _bad_ Naruto. Leave the chakra-enhanced pranking for after he was in the Academy. Otherwise too many questions would come up, and Naruto was – frankly speaking – a terrible liar.

Sure, Naruto could squeak by with half-truths and grins and being really loud if he felt like it, but straight out lying? Nahhh. He left that to sensei.

Even if Kakashi's lies stretched the limits of belief on a normal day. The thing was that he delivered them in such a deadpan way that one couldn't help but wonder if Kakashi had _really_ gotten lost on the road of life. Or helped an old lady with her groceries.

The last excuse was actually an excuse. Naruto had seen him do it one time.

The black cat was a flagrant lie. Kakashi had sat down and pet it.

Shaking his head at the memory, Naruto crouched and considered the several paint cans that he had been able to procure. They'd been all he could carry given his current physical state, especially if he wanted to be sneaky. And sneaky was important.

Stealth was one of the reasons he'd made it as long as he did. That, and being totally awesome. But that was a given.

Grinning wildly, Naruto moved to pick up a paint can and promptly fell over when it refused to budge.

Okay, this would take a little more time than he'd thought.

* * *

An hour later, Naruto had managed to get all his paint cans to the appropriate place. He was rather sore and his toes hurt from where he'd dropped the cans several times, but that was all in a day's work.

Plus, it was great physical training! Especially if he couldn't do the other things he was used to doing. Because that would raise _questions_.

Sometimes he hated being sneaky.

It helped to think of it all like a major prank that he was pulling over the village. Except no one would ever know that it _was_ a prank. Hopefully.

There was always the possibility that something would go wrong and their status as time travelers would come out. Naruto wasn't sure what would happen then. Kakashi was certain they'd be taken to T&I and assessed for insanity and being traitors to Konoha. Naruto thought that the old man might give them the benefit of the doubt and listen.

It had been an argument between the two that hadn't been resolved beyond Naruto agreeing to do it Kakashi's way.

Kakashi _was_ his Hokage.

And he hated arguing with his sensei.

Especially since now…

Naruto slapped his cheeks, tossing out the thought before it could fully formulate.

No bad thoughts! This wasn't the time for those. Bad thoughts were relegated to dreary rainy days. Or those days when everything was horrible and awful and he couldn't see a way out no matter how hard he tried.

This was not one of those days.

Rubbing a finger under his nose, Naruto resisted the urge to cackle.

Five minutes later, Naruto had cleared the scene and was watching the remnants of his prank take hold. The store that had kicked him out when he'd tried to get some food was now painted a lovely _orange_.

If he'd had more time he could've painted the inside, too. But as it was Naruto was physically five and he hadn't shown any particular aptitude towards sneaking around before. So he had to start small.

Such as upending several buckets of paint over the front of the store and all the customers.

Once he was sure the prank had been a success, Naruto fled the scene entirely. He had no desire to be caught, especially not by the people now. The glares were back, as were the people who ignored his presence entirely. He may as well have been a ghost for all the good it did.

It was the most awful feeling in the world, and Naruto hadn't missed it one bit.

Ducking his head as a woman glared at him, hissing something foul under her breath, he slipped around the corner and onto another street before breaking into a run. Naruto wasn't sure where he was going, but running at breakneck speed through the streets was something kids did all the time.

So what if it also served the purpose of avoiding those glares?

Naruto didn't realize that he'd made it to the playground until he heard the sounds of children laughing and adults talking. He slowed to a walking pace, half-registering the ANBU still on his trail. The rest of his attention was on the civilian children playing.

And the parents noticing he was here and beginning the process of pulling their children away.

Throat burning, Naruto walked past them all, heading into the trees that were behind the playground. He picked one and sat down heavily, burying his face in his knees.

He really wanted Kakashi right now.

* * *

When Kakashi entered Naruto's apartment that night, he was alarmed to find Naruto looking so down. Not only down, but quiet.

"Naruto?" He kept his voice quiet.

Naruto looked up at him, eyes pained. "You see me, don't you?"

Kakashi frowned slightly, confused. "Of course I do. You're right here."

The answer didn't seem to perk Naruto up. "I…yeah." He glanced back at his bedroom. "Let's go. I already set the bed up."

Perturbed, Kakashi followed Naruto out, letting him lead until they hit the street. After that, Kakashi led the two far away enough that he could move both of them into a shunshin that dropped them at Training Ground 3.

He was mildly pleased that there seemed to be no ill effects for him at executing the jutsu, but he was more concerned at how Naruto simply wasn't cheering up.

Kakashi watched as Naruto sat down heavily at the base of one of the wooden posts. He followed after, sitting down next to Naruto and crossing his legs, waiting for the other to say something.

If Sakura were here, she would have already asked Naruto to tell her what was wrong. Sasuke would have challenged him to a sparring match and then demanded answers in-between insulting him.

Kakashi could ask Naruto, but he generally preferred waiting until Naruto was ready to speak. He didn't mind sitting in silence, and sometimes patience was all that was needed.

Eventually his patience paid off.

Naruto leaned against him, shoulder braced against his own. "I forgot," he whispered, hugging his knees to his chest. "I forgot how awful it was. Being alone…"

Kakashi's eye widened slightly. Oh. The burden of a jinchuuriki… Kakashi had forgotten as well.

Kakashi hesitated, uncertain of whether Naruto wanted physical touch or not. But Naruto was leaning against him, so that had to be a yes. Slowly, he wrapped an arm around Naruto's small shoulders, encouraging him to lean more heavily into his side.

Naruto's earlier question made a lot more sense now. "I see you, Naruto," he repeated, this time with a greater emphasis on the words. "You're not alone."

"Yeah," Naruto breathed, eyes closing. "Thanks, sensei."

Kakashi didn't say anything else, letting Naruto be. He resisted the urge to shift or pull away. He'd been around people today who had treated him familiarly. Naruto had gotten the brunt of the village's hatred. The least Kakashi could do was let Naruto draw comfort from friendly physical contact.

"I'm glad you're here," Naruto said eventually, voice hushed. "But…I can't see you. I know why, but that doesn't make it easy." His arms tightened around his legs. "I tried talking to Kurama today, but he didn't respond. I think he's asleep. Or maybe he didn't come back at all."

It had been hit or miss as to whether the Kyuubi would make it back with them, but Kakashi had rather hoped that Kurama would manage. "You knew that it was possible he wouldn't come with us. A jutsu like that had never been done before."

"I know," Naruto muttered, eyes downcast. "But I hoped, y'know? It would've made things easier…"

"Well, maybe he is asleep," Kakashi said after a moment. He didn't think it likely, but he hated seeing Naruto so down.

"Maybe."

After a while, Naruto drew away, stretching before turning to Kakashi with a wide grin that looked far too fake. "So! Did you get the hang of it? And what did you find out?"

Kakashi eyed the fake grin for a brief moment before deciding to let it go. Naruto didn't want him to push, so he wouldn't. "It's October twenty-fifth. I'm under orders not to show my face at the Hokage Tower for the next week so I've no missions for right now."

Naruto blinked. "What, really? What did you do?"

"I didn't ask," Kakashi answered blandly, moving to stand.

"But you know, don't you?"

Kakashi pretended not to hear, walking to a tree.

There was a frustrated groan from Naruto. "Agh, Kakashi!"

There was a lot Naruto knew, but there was a lot Naruto also didn't know. And Kakashi didn't want to tell Naruto what an emotional wreck he had been at this age.

He might find out at some point, but Kakashi wasn't going to be saying anything.

Slowly walking up the tree, Kakashi turned and stepped on the underside of a broad branch, focused on maintaining the appropriate ratio of mental vs. physical chakra. So far it was working splendidly.

"So you did figure it out!" Naruto pointed up at him, grinning broadly. "That's awesome!"

Kakashi raised a finger. "It's easy enough doing it when I'm not pressed. But"—he snapped his fingers, letting sparks of electricity fly for a brief moment—"split-second reaction timing is something I'm still working on. It'll be a few more days before I'm back to throwing jutsu around when sparring."

"But that's just days!" Naruto said. "That's not long at all!"

"It's the bare minimum," Kakashi said, opting to walk back down the tree. "It'll be longer than that before it's instinctive. Right now it's still taking most of my focus to balance it properly, so I won't be going up solo against any A- or S-rank shinobi."

Naruto tilted his head, clearly thinking. "Which…basically makes up our entire pool of bad guys. Nice." He pulled a face.

"We've got time," Kakashi reminded him, walking past Naruto and touching his head. He would've gone for the shoulder but Naruto was _short_. "You should get started on climbing that tree." Then, smiling, he teased, "Do you need a kunai?"

"No," Naruto answered sharply, knocking Kakashi's hand off his head and shooting him a peeved glare. " _No_. I am _not_ five years old, and I am _definitely_ better than I was when I was a twelve-year-old genin!"

"Aren't you still a genin?"

Naruto shot him a disgruntled look. " _Don't remind me_ ," he hissed, stomping off towards a tree. "This time I'm going to make chuunin! At _least_!"

Laughing quietly, Kakashi didn't say that he had no doubt Naruto would succeed. It was only by technicality that Naruto had remained a genin anyway. He was technically jounin-level (or Kage, really). If one ignored the fact that Naruto had no control over his chakra right now.

Right now even Kakashi couldn't really be considered the same level as before.

Darting in to catch Naruto when his first attempt to climb the tree failed in a resounding splintering crash, Kakashi resisted the urge to laugh again, simply letting Naruto go.

"You go and do your thing," Naruto said, shaking his clothes off. "I don't need you catching me every time I explode a tree."

"Don't get hurt." Kakashi watched Naruto stalk towards another tree before turning and heading towards the water.

Water walking would certainly test his reaction timing, since the chakra flow had to be adjusted minutely every time the water shifted under one's weight. And since that was always, that meant he'd be adjusting his chakra balance every single second.

Maybe it wouldn't be too bad?

Kakashi lasted all of two seconds before he dropped like a stone.

Taking a brief moment to be thankful that he had left all his sensitive materials that couldn't get water soaked on the shore, Kakashi tried to get back up on the surface.

He managed, but then another splintering explosion distracted him and he was back underwater.

Yeah, he could tell this was going to take a while. At least they _did_ have time.

* * *

 **Look, I really like their relationship dynamics. Obviously a little different from canon given we're looking at 5-6 years that they spent in active war, but I'm basing it off everything we see in Part II. But, yeah, I like their relationship dynamics, and I hope you guys do, too.**

 **Also, Gai! I love his relationship with Kakashi. It is absolutely the best thing ever. So of course I'm not going to be skimping on Gai here. :P**

 **I'd love to hear your feedback on this chapter! :D Like I said, I'm gonna try to go for weekly updates depending on whenever I finish the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all the feedback so far! :D I'm really glad you guys are continuing to enjoy this! I know not a lot is happening yet, but it's coming! Slowly. In the meantime, have some character interaction! Because part of the reason (okay, a BIG reason) why I'm doing this is because of the characters and their relationship, so I hope you continue to enjoy that aspect. Since it's going to be a large piece of this fic.**

 **I hope you enjoy! :D**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

* * *

 _Usually, when one was faced with a ten-tailed monster that had rampaged across the earth centuries ago and destroyed almost **everything** before being sealed, the logical thing to do was run. If one didn't, then one could be classified as insane._

 _He wasn't sure if he was insane or not. He did know that he was doing something incredibly stupid. The terror surging through him was enough evidence of that._

 _The Kyuubi wasn't enough. They had the Hachibi, but the Juubi had shrugged off the attacks like they were mere annoyances._

 _They were so small. And nothing he had was enough against a monster of that size._

 _He'd dragged Naruto away before the other could throw himself at the Juubi and kill himself. They wouldn't have anything if Naruto died._

 _Only Naruto wasn't there any longer. He'd slipped away in the dust and smoke, but hadn't Naruto just been there? He hadn't let go, had he?_

 _Where was he?_

 _There was an ear-piercing scream that drowned everything else out. It shattered the air, cracked the ground, and the rush of chakra that followed was overwhelming._

 _He whipped around, gaze going up, up, and **up** , only to see exactly what he had feared: Naruto, blazing with the fire of the Kyuubi's chakra, and surging headlong towards the Juubi, an enormous bijuudama ready to be fired._

 _But they'd tried that before. It hadn't worked._

 _And…it hadn't gone like this, had it? No, he'd pulled Naruto away, they'd **run** , Minato grabbing hold of them to use his Hiraishin and take them as far as possible from the monster._

 _So why was this happening? Why was Naruto going against the Juubi?_

 _There was a breathless moment where even his terror seemed to be drowned out by the anticipation roiling through the air._

 _The bijuudama fired, only to be instantly swallowed by one dozens of times its size, and everything in its wake followed suit._

 _His arms were shielding his face, he was somehow still alive, but Naruto – **Naruto** —_

Kakashi jerked awake, nearly rolling right out of his bed as he struggled to get out of his blankets. He pulled his arms free, and then did actually fall out, hitting the floor with a painful thud. His legs were still wrapped up in the sheets and in the bed.

Breathing heavily, Kakashi pressed a hand to his left eye, bidding the burning behind it to disappear. His chakra roiled, begging to be used against an enemy that was no longer here.

It took several long moments, but the burning eventually subsided, and Kakashi could be sure that the Mangekyou wasn't present any longer. Letting the hand drop to his side, Kakashi stared up at the ceiling, focusing on his breathing.

A nightmare. Only a nightmare.

Based off something that had actually happened, but it hadn't happened like that. They'd gotten clear, but had lost more of their forces as a result. And after that…Naruto had asked for specific training from Minato.

It hadn't been the first or last time they'd had such a close call against the Juubi, but it had definitely been one of the most memorable.

Not that they weren't all memorable, but stare death in the face too many times and it started to get a little routine. He hadn't told anyone else that, since the first time he'd tried cracking an inappropriate joke about sitting down with the Juubi for tea everyone had gone dead quiet and stared at him like he'd lost his head. Except Naruto. Naruto had laughed about it afterwards and then almost cried.

Anyway.

Kakashi was a little more interested – in a detached sort of way – at how the nightmare hadn't felt as vivid as it usually did. Even now, when he cast his mind back to the battle scene, remembering how it had felt to be in the presence of that terrifying, primordial monster, he felt a step removed from the images.

Usually he tried not to remember. It was too dangerous, leaving him twitching and raw for hours afterwards.

But now?

Kakashi untangled his legs from the blanket and turned, leaning his back against the bed as he crossed his ankles and brought his knees up. He wrapped his arms around his shins, tangling his hands together as he thought.

Trauma was a tricky thing. Kakashi knew the tricks to adapting and getting around a lot of it. How to appear normal even if everything inside you was turning around and burning the world to ashes. But it was easier than expected now. He'd expected to be jumpier than he currently was, and the smell of barbeque didn't make him remember—

Well, it wasn't as bad as he had expected given that he'd essentially just returned from a war without any kind of debriefing or psychological counseling.

Not that Kakashi liked going to psychological counseling. He usually just bullshitted something and flitted away.

No one had ever dragged him back. He was sane enough and completely competent, so they couldn't force him.

In any case, Kakashi didn't entirely understand all the effects trauma could have on the mind. Just that he wasn't as affected here as he had been in the future, and he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

That said…

Kakashi still wasn't going to be sleeping for the rest of the night.

It was too quiet.

* * *

"Goooood morning, my esteemed rival!"

Startled as he was at the loud voice (because he'd registered the _presence_ but the _voice_ was entirely unexpected), Kakashi lost hold of his chakra and dropped underwater. He took a moment to be justifiably peeved that his record of being able to _stay on top of the water_ since the sun had risen was broken. Then he shook it off with an exhale and surfaced, treading water to see Gai on the shore.

"Are we practicing swimming this morning, my rival?" Gai asked, teeth gleaming brightly in the sunlight.

Exhaling again, this time without the satisfying release of bubbles, Kakashi pulled himself out of the water entirely, balancing precariously on the balls of his feet. He'd so far managed to walk on water and do his katas. He could have a conversation, couldn't he?

"All skills are important for a shinobi," Kakashi answered eventually, standing upright. "Did you need something?"

Surely Gai didn't want _another_ competition, did he? They'd just had one yesterday.

"I challenge you, rival!" Gai announced, promptly dashing all of Kakashi's expectations.

Kakashi slipped a hand in his pocket, bringing the other one up to rub the back of his head. "Oh? We just had one yesterday."

"Youth waits for no one!" Gai shouted, pointing a finger to the sky. "You should know that, Kakashi!"

"Right, right." Kakashi made his way to the shore, pleased as punch when he managed it without slipping up. It was pitiful, but at this point he took his victories where he could get them. "So…it's your pick this time, right?"

Gai pumped a fist in the air. "Indeed, my rival! And I have selected the perfect challenge for us!"

Kakashi took a brief moment to hope that the challenge wasn't anything insane like climbing up the Hokage Mountain with nothing but one's feet and no chakra. He'd done it once before but it hadn't been fun. Because feet weren't meant to be used as climbing instruments. Kakashi still wasn't sure how he'd managed to finish that challenge; he must have blotted it out.

"I challenge you to a race!" Gai said, catching Kakashi's attention. "First one to the top of the Hokage Mountain wins! But!" He grinned again, winking. "We must race to the gates first!"

Okay that…wasn't so bad.

Kakashi bent to pick up the small bag he'd left on the shore so it wouldn't get wet. "To the gates and then to the top of the mountain?"

"You are correct!" Gai turned to face the same direction Kakashi was, pointing to a floating leaf in the sky. "That leaf touching the ground will be the signal!"

The leaf was floating around like a butterfly. Kakashi thought it would take a while to touch the ground.

Still, he prepared to begin at a moment's notice, catching Gai's eye when he shifted his head. His friend gave him a fierce grin, one which Kakashi didn't return beyond a slight inclination of his head.

Gai was a dear friend, and Kakashi felt rather blessed that he could spend time with him again. That feeling was only a bit soured by the knowledge as to how he even had this chance to begin with, but that didn't matter.

The point of this was that nothing that had happened would happen again.

Kakashi would make sure of it. And if he failed, Naruto would succeed.

The leaf was swirling down, several feet from touching the ground.

Taking in slow, measured breaths, Kakashi braced his feet for an instant takeoff, pulling up a mental map of Konoha to plan his path. He only hoped that he remembered it well enough to manage properly. Taking the roofs would help.

The moment the leaf touched the ground, he took off in a blur, feeling Gai do the same.

Kakashi instantly took to the trees, wincing when his chakra-enhanced jump took out part of the ground. He quickly modulated the ratio, and he managed to not break any branches until he exited the trees and landed on the ground, just ahead of Gai clearing the tree line.

He knew from yesterday that he was faster than Gai, which was very much a first for him for years. Just about the only edge Kakashi had had on Gai was his speed in ninjutsu, but now that wasn't the case any longer.

Reaching the gates took a few more minutes, Kakashi quickly redirecting his trajectory and stopping briefly to wave to the startled guards. They looked vaguely familiar but he wasn't able to place their faces just yet.

Then, eyeing the Hokage Mountain, Kakashi jumped onto the nearest roof and started running. He could sense Gai just a little behind him.

His chakra control came much more smoothly this time, and he managed to not break any rooftops this time. There were genin on the roofs, and Kakashi darted past them before they could react beyond startled yelps.

Kakashi jumped again, landed, and skidded through a mess of paint and water that appeared out of nowhere, colliding with someone much smaller.

" _Hey_!" Naruto protested indignantly from under Kakashi. "Watch where you're going!"

Quickly rolling off Naruto, Kakashi pulled him to his feet, checked that he was okay with a swift pat down, and offered a brief "Sorry" before taking off again. Gai had just about caught up with the distraction.

"Oh _sweet_!" Naruto shouted from behind him. "I want to be a shinobi, too!"

Naruto was laying it on a bit thick there, wasn't he?

For that matter, Kakashi wanted to know just what Naruto had been planning before he ran into him. Now Kakashi was covered in orange paint that stung his nose.

The Hokage Tower was coming up, along with the Academy and all the other administration buildings.

With a giant leap, Kakashi cleared the street and landed just at the base of the tower.

From there it was easy enough to get to the mountain, and Kakashi could hear Gai yelling happily from behind him.

Kakashi wasn't climbing this with his feet (he was dead certain Gai had won _that_ challenge, even if he couldn't remember the details because his rarely used sense of self-preservation had kicked in), so he wasn't hampered by anything other than shoddy chakra control. And this wasn't water.

Climbing up the mountain went faster than traversing Konoha, and soon Kakashi found himself sitting on top of Sarutobi's head, extremely pleased with himself. Gai cleared the top thirty seconds later with an enthusiastic grunt, plopping himself down next to Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't say anything, tucking his right foot under his left thigh while his free leg dangled over the edge. He inhaled, hoping for a whiff of fresh air, only to get a breath full of the metal smell of paint. Coughing sharply in shock, Kakashi rubbed at his mask, unsurprised to find his fingers coming away orange.

Or more orange than they had been before.

Kakashi looked ruefully down at his clothes and noted that he would need to wash them.

Gai was looking at him, a small frown on his face. "It was most un-youthful of you to leave that child alone after running into him!"

"He was fine," Kakashi said, rubbing his hand off on his pants. "I checked before I left."

"I admit, I'm more surprised that you didn't notice his presence!"

Kakashi was, too. He'd been too engrossed in staying clear of the other shinobi to register Naruto's familiar presence. Normally Naruto stayed clear, but Naruto was pretending to be a civilian.

"I didn't expect the paint," Kakashi admitted after a moment, lifting his hand to demonstrate. It was still orange; the paint wasn't coming off.

Gai burst out into laughter, clapping Kakashi on the back before he could flinch away. "It was quite a trick! The young boy must be extraordinarily youthful!"

That was one way to describe Naruto.

Kakashi inched away from Gai, setting his hands down on the stone and breathing through his mouth so as not to sicken himself with the metallic, artificial smell of paint.

Turning his gaze back to the view of Konoha, Kakashi let the silence sit, comfortable doing nothing else but enjoying what he'd been unable to in the future. He would eventually have to get up and start working again, but why not take the peace he could?

He had been going nonstop for years now. No shinobi could do so forever without burning out.

Really, Kakashi was lucky he hadn't burned out yet.

"I admit that I hadn't expected you to accept my challenge," Gai said long moments later. "Not after yesterday."

Kakashi glanced askance at him, glad that Gai was on his right side so he didn't have to move his head much. He knew what Gai was referring to. It wasn't like he'd ever made it easy to be dragged into their challenges at this point.

He wanted to say what he was thinking, that he'd realized hard work was so much better than natural talent. That having connections and risking that pain of losing everything was better than remaining alone.

But it would be strange if he bared his soul now.

"It's training," Kakashi said finally, keeping his tone carefully dismissive. He stood, bracing his hands on his knees so that he was still somewhat on Gai's level.

His friend looked just a bit crestfallen at Kakashi's dismissive tone, although he hid it well.

Kakashi straightened, moving closer to the very edge of the mountain. He didn't look back as he tucked his hands in his pockets, saying casually, "The next challenge is mine, isn't it?" Turning his head to meet Gai's wide eyes, he inclined his head in farewell before disappearing in a shunshin.

It would be all too easy to slip up around Gai, saying something uncharacteristic that would raise some kind of suspicion. Or maybe not necessarily _suspicion_ , but concern that Kakashi wasn't quite fine.

Which…was probably true, but Kakashi was as fine as one could be.

Sighing, Kakashi headed back to the training ground. He still needed to get his chakra control up. With luck, he would be back to somewhat normal by the time he was permitted to show his masked face around Sarutobi.

* * *

"Were you racing Bushier Brow-sensei?" Naruto demanded when Kakashi saw him later that night.

Kakashi stifled a smile at the familiar nickname. Even with his mask, Naruto would see it. "Yes. What were you doing with the paint?"

Naruto pouted, closing his apartment door behind him. "It was supposed to be a prank," he muttered. "But you knocked everything over." He shot Kakashi a look. "Why didn't you notice?"

"I had an eye out for other shinobi," Kakashi admitted, not proud of his earlier lapse. "Usually it isn't a problem."

Naruto's natural speed made it a good fighting style in conjunction with him. It meant Kakashi didn't have to worry that much about watching where Naruto was because he would get out of the way first or base his movements around Kakashi's.

"Yeah, but usually I'm a lot older, taller, and people know I'm a shinobi." Naruto elbowed his leg. "Eh, it's good to know you make mistakes."

Kakashi didn't look down to meet Naruto's eyes. Of course he made mistakes. Naruto knew that.

"That was a joke, sensei," Naruto said when Kakashi didn't speak.

"Ha ha," Kakashi said dryly. "Come on."

Once out of the ANBU range, Kakashi picked Naruto up and whisked them both to their training ground.

"Seriously," Naruto said once Kakashi let him down, "it's not the end of the world, Kakashi. It's not like you ran into Madara because you mistook him for a friend."

Kakashi deliberately didn't react, eye on the mess of trees that Naruto had made the previous night. He was rather surprised that Gai hadn't noticed the general condition of the place earlier. "I can't afford lapses like that," he said.

"Then don't," Naruto said simply. "You don't make the same mistake twice. I know you, sensei."

Kakashi's shoulders inched up slightly, his muscles tightening. "Don't I?" He tried to keep his voice light, but he wasn't sure if he succeeded.

"You don't," Naruto said firmly, tone forbidding further argument. "Stop being an idiot."

How could one stop being an idiot if that was what they were?

Kakashi didn't voice the thought, finally looking down to meet Naruto's eyes with a small smile that he knew Naruto could see. "Ahh, who's the Hokage here?"

"You are," Naruto said candidly, shrugging. "But I'm your student, friend, and partner. So if anyone's going to kick your ass into your gear, you better bet it's going to be me." He gave Kakashi a fierce grin. "So, Kakashi-sensei…what've we got planned for tonight's training?" His eyes turned steely. "If you say tree climbing—"

"Did you reach the top without destroying the tree?" Kakashi asked, only to dodge a punch a second later. "I'll leave you to it, shall I?"

He fled to the water, where he knew Naruto wouldn't follow because the other still hadn't been able to reach the top of a tree without cracking the bark.

* * *

 _"You're in charge, Kakashi."_

 _He stared in disbelief at Tsunade. "What?"_

 _Tsunade stared back at him, pushing something heavy and soft in his hands. "You're the Rokudaime Hokage. Take care of them."_

 _"This – this isn't—"_

 _But Tsunade was gone before he could finish his protests, leaving him standing there with something heavy, warm, and soft in his hands._

 _He looked down to see the Hokage's hat in his hands, surprise ringing through him. Tsunade never carried the hat, so why did he have it?_

 _This wasn't how it had happened, was it?_

 _But he had the hat – he could **feel** the hat in his hands – so maybe he wasn't remembering right._

 _Only when he looked down again, the hat wasn't just a hat. Tsunade's bloody head gazed blankly up at him._

Kakashi woke with a ragged gasp, heart pounding in his chest and eyes flicking around his room in search of an enemy. His left eye burned, and it was a moment before Kakashi could cover it with a hand, tamping down his chakra until he felt the Mangekyou dissipate.

Ugh, _fuck_.

That was the second time he'd woken up with an active Mangekyou. The next thing he knew he'd be using Kamui on random objects and passing out from chakra exhaustion.

Still keeping his eye covered, Kakashi focused on breathing, curling up under his blankets. It was a stark reminder that he was in Konoha, not in a dark cave or on the ground of a forest.

Everything was fine.

When his breathing had evened out and his heart was no longer beating a rapid staccato against his ribs, Kakashi sat up, turning so that he could lean back against the wall his bed was set up against. He pulled his knees up to his chest, pressing his forehead to them and focusing on the sensations he could feel now.

Reminding himself that it hadn't actually happened that way was another thing he needed to do.

There'd been no hat. Tsunade had never bothered with the physical trappings of being Hokage unless it was a formal event, and even then she threw it off when drunk enough.

No, it had just been Tsunade pulling him aside and telling him that in the event something happened, he would be the next Hokage. Kakashi had said it wasn't the best idea. Tsunade had just stared him down and said he was the only one she would consider for the job because Naruto was too young and hadn't the necessary experience.

Then she'd patted him on the shoulder and said she didn't plan on dying just yet.

Kakashi had been reassured for all of a week before they came under an attack from Madara, then the jinchuuriki of the Juubi, which had cost them a large number of their forces before Tsunade, A, Mei, and Onoki had distracted him. Kakashi and Gaara had been the ones to call and order the retreat.

There'd been no doubt what they had sentenced the four Kages to, but there hadn't been any choice.

It had left them down to two Kages, since the others hadn't appointed anyone else, refusing to consider the possibility of failure.

Which had been utterly stupid. They knew they were outclassed by Madara. But Tsunade had been the only one to actively pick a successor for the worst case scenario.

Not that it _mattered_. Rankings meant little in the face of what they had been dealing with.

Kakashi exhaled, knocking his head back against the wall.

He'd been Hokage, and then he had also ended up as the overall commander of the Shinobi Alliance. The job had fallen to Gaara after A's death, since he had been the general of the different regiments. But…

He'd said someone more experienced needed to be in charge of everything.

And Kakashi had said _yes, of course_ because what else could he do?

Kakashi closed his right eye, focusing on his breathing. After another moment, he opened it again, turning his head to look out the window through the crack in his drapes.

There hadn't been anything else he could do. And now he was here.

Sighing, Kakashi rubbed his eyes, exhaustion tugging at his mind like another limb.

He should try to sleep, but Kakashi dreaded the dreams.

* * *

Honestly, Naruto couldn't wait for the Academy to start up. And he never thought he'd say that because he hated school. It was so _boring_.

Yet here he was. Hoping to be enrolled soon so the monotony of his life would be broken.

And so he could finally use chakra without making his ANBU guards suspicious.

He'd managed the tree climbing exercise last night, although Kakashi had just hummed mysteriously and told him to keep working on it before moving to water walking.

Considering Naruto had seen Kakashi fall under the water multiple times while doing katas or jumping around, there was probably something to be said about getting tree walking down perfectly. Especially if his own sensei was having issues.

At least Naruto didn't have to go on S-ranked missions anytime soon. Kakashi would have to once his reprieve was over, and Naruto _worried_.

What if something went wrong? Yeah, Kakashi was a badass, but he wasn't up to his usual self yet.

It wasn't like Naruto could give him backup either. His control was too sloppy for the Hiraishin, and he wasn't touching any other jutsu with a ten foot pole until he could be sure he wasn't going to blow something up.

Explosions were cool, but not if his brain was at risk. Or his arm if he messed up a Rasengan.

And Kakashi had so many awesome jutsu, but how many could he actually use now?

Naruto scowled down at his feet, pausing in the middle of the street.

It wasn't like he could talk to Kakashi. His sensei would just pat him on the head and give that eye-smile that wasn't actually a smile and go on about how it was so cute Naruto worried about him.

Considering Kakashi hadn't done that when Naruto was an adult, Naruto had another reason to hate being five and short.

Biting his lip, Naruto thought back to the conversation they had last night. Kakashi had seemed…odd. More frustrated than usual.

It wasn't like Kakashi had said as much, but Naruto had gotten good at reading him. There wasn't a lot Kakashi could hide from him, mask or no mask. (Although Naruto _had_ gotten a look at that face in the future, so take that! But the circumstances behind Kakashi's mask getting ripped hadn't been all that funny.) Still, Kakashi was so very private, and while Naruto knew he wasn't the best at picking up social cues sometimes, he knew enough to not pry into another person's secrets.

Only it was hard when the other person was the only one he could interact with normally. And when he didn't want the other person to be hurting.

Besides, Kakashi was so good at reading _Naruto_ that it kind of sucked that Naruto still couldn't do the same for Kakashi.

Naruto glumly kicked a rock to the side, head down.

A lot of things sucked right now. They had time, but Naruto wanted it to be _over_ with.

He hated waiting for the war that would be coming. It hung over his head like a gloomy cloud, threatening everything that he held dear. It wasn't even like he could just wave a hand and tell it to go away.

But that was the point, wasn't it? To make it possible so Naruto _could_ get rid of that cloud and make sure that nothing bad happened.

So Granny Tsunade didn't have to die. So Gaara would still be alive and not buried under a mound of sand as he tried to take down as many white Zetsus as he could in a suicide run.

 _Those white Zetsus_.

They were like _zombies_. Short of annihilating their bodies entirely, somehow they kept regenerating and coming back.

Kakashi had come up with several cool jutsu that did the trick pretty well, but Naruto had never gotten the hang of lightning affinity. No, all he had were his bijuudama and Rasenshuriken. They were effective, but the most damage they caused was in a central location. The further out one was from the impact zone, the less damage was caused.

Kakashi was able to spread it out. And so could Sasuke once he learned the same jutsu.

Sasuke…

Naruto sighed, scratching his neck as he considered his best friend. Sasuke would also be five and happy with his family. Because the Uchiha weren't dead yet and Naruto was planning on making sure they didn't die this time around.

Kakashi was on board; they just needed to figure out when to take care of the mess.

Would Naruto still be friends with him? Would Naruto even be on the same team as Sasuke?

Naruto could probably pull a dead last position again. It would suck, but that wouldn't be too much of an issue.

He wouldn't graduate early either. He could easily substitute the bunshin jutsu for kage bunshin when the time came so he didn't have to fail.

Which reminded him about the whole mess with Iruka and Mizuki. He didn't want to lose that bond with Iruka.

Growling under his breath, Naruto pulled at his hair, barely aware of the looks people were shooting him. It wasn't until someone roughly bumped into him that he darted off at top speed, pelting through the street.

He didn't know what to do. Just sitting and waiting wasn't his thing. He needed to _do_ something, but what he could do without completely messing things up?

Naruto dashed past a crowd of civilians, turning abruptly and running down another street.

Become friends with Sasuke earlier? Somehow reach out to Iruka and make it clear that he wasn't the Kyuubi but a child?

He ran over a bridge, legs burning with the effort.

What of Team 7? How could he be sure that team would form again?

Kakashi hadn't said a word, so Naruto didn't know if his sensei was willing to take on that team again. He probably was, but what if Kakashi somehow ended up with another team?

So many things could happen that Naruto had no way of keeping track of them all.

Naruto turned on his heel and ran back down the path he had just come from. He darted past the ANBU following him, who were both probably rather confused at his sudden mad dash through Konoha.

Naruto didn't want to be alone anymore. He'd gotten used to not being alone – to being _seen_.

Now it was just Kakashi, but Kakashi couldn't see him during the day. Not without putting on a henge or having some other kind of disguise.

So should he? Should he reach out to Sasuke now?

Sasuke wasn't alone yet, would hopefully never be alone like he had been, but Naruto wasn't the same either. He could do something about it.

Naruto didn't slow down, but he let a smile pull at his lips as he darted past the Academy, head turning slightly so he could look at it.

Okay, he had a small bit of a plan. Now he would just need to run it past Kakashi.

Hopefully, he wasn't going to _stay_ alone now.

* * *

"You want to talk to Sasuke?"

"Yeah – _urk_!" Naruto yelped as he went under with a loud splash. A few seconds later he was back on dry land. "I want to reach out to him."

"Hm…" Kakashi flicked his tantou around, moving through the first stances of the dance his father had taught him. He was managing to stay successfully on top of the water now, although it was still taking more focus than he would have liked.

"What?" Naruto demanded, back on the water, fingers linked together in the ram seal as he channeled chakra. He managed to stay on top of the water for now. "Don't tell me it's a bad idea!"

"I don't know if it's a bad idea," Kakashi answered, hesitating as he blanked on the next stance. After a moment he simply decided to wing it and go with whatever felt natural. "What are you hoping to achieve with it?"

"Achieve? I just want to be friends with him, ya know!" Naruto shouted, only to lose focus and slip under the water again. He surfaced, shaking his head like a dog before simply treading water. "We can't plan for everything, Kakashi. You know that. We're going to need to take a leap of faith sometime."

Sighing, Kakashi sheathed his tantou and walked over to Naruto, pulling him out of the water and setting him on the surface. He didn't let go of the back of Naruto's shirt until he was sure Naruto could stay on top.

"I know," he said, still keeping one hand at the nape of Naruto's neck just in case. With the other, he lifted his hitai-ate so he could more easily read Naruto's chakra flow. "But this is personal, isn't it?"

"Everything's personal, ya know," Naruto grumbled, folding his arms and glaring angrily at Kakashi. "Otherwise we would've just rolled over and died, yeah? But we're here and we're doing this. What does it hurt if I talk to Sasuke and make friends with him earlier? Maybe he won't go to Orochimaru this time!"

Kakashi gripped hold of Naruto's shirt just before he dropped, keeping him upright until Naruto stabilized his chakra flow. Once he was sure Naruto wouldn't drop again, he spoke. "That's seven years down the line, Naruto. If we change what we need to in the next year or so, it's very likely that Orochimaru will never be in that forest with you. _You_ might not be in that forest. As for Sasuke…I can't tell you what's going to happen. You know him best."

Naruto's chin dropped until the back of his head was all Kakashi could see. "Yeah…I do. Which is why"—he lifted his head to meet Kakashi's eyes, a fire burning in his own—"I need to do this! Sasuke is my friend! Even if he's never going to be the same, I'm not the same either! And I can't just sit around and do nothing but train, so I'm gonna do something that I _know_ will help! And you know it, too!"

Kakashi's grip tightened on the back of Naruto's shirt, holding him aloft for a few seconds before Naruto regained his balance, chakra flow stabilizing. Kakashi let his shoulders go loose, his other hand coming up to rub the back of his neck.

"You're going to do it anyway," Kakashi said, holding Naruto's gaze. "Does it matter what I say?"

Naruto flinched slightly, eyes widening. "Of course it does! We're partners, Kakashi-sensei! But you said it yourself: you don't think it's a bad idea."

"We're partners," Kakashi agreed. "Which also means you don't need my permission to do something if you think it'll work."

Naruto's mouth set in a thin line that signaled he was either going to be mulish or deliver a passionate speech that would change an enemy's lifelong ideals. It could also herald a punch.

Kakashi hoped it wasn't a punch.

"You're my Hokage," Naruto said, steady and sure. "You're my Hokage, my teacher, and my partner. So what you think matters, even if it's stupid and I need to argue with you about it."

It was the speech, although a lot shorter than Naruto's usual. Maybe it was because Kakashi wasn't an enemy.

Exhaling, Kakashi dropped his head, eyes closing. He pressed his free hand to his right eye, considering.

Sasuke was five. Even though Naruto looked five, he was twenty-two years old. There was a world of difference there. A world that might actually change things for the better.

This would cause ripples Kakashi couldn't predict, but their very presence here was already changing things.

And that was the _point_.

"Okay," Kakashi said finally, letting his hand drop and opening his eyes to meet Naruto's. He nodded slightly. "Okay," he repeated. "I'll let you decide what to do regarding Sasuke and how you want to handle that."

It was only a moment before Naruto broke into a beaming grin. "All right!" He leapt up, throwing himself at Kakashi in a tackle hug, arms squeezing tightly around Kakashi's neck. "Thanks, sensei!"

Kakashi stumbled back slightly, both arms coming up in reflex, hands braced defensively. "No need to thank me!"

Naruto hung onto him like a limpet. "Ehh, c'mon, Kakashi-sensei, you can hug me back! There's no one else here."

That wasn't the problem. The problem was the _touching_.

Kakashi gripped hold of Naruto's sides and pulled him off, for once rather glad that Naruto was so much smaller and weaker than his adult self. Because then all he would be able to do was a kawarimi, and even that wasn't reliable given how fast Naruto could be.

"It's fine," Kakashi said before Naruto could protest at the manhandling. He set Naruto down without warning, and the other went straight into the water with a yelp.

"Agh, sensei!"

Kakashi jumped back before Naruto could swipe at him. "As your sensei, here's a shinobi lesson…always have your guard up!"

"You just made that one up!"

"Do I need to give you the rulebook?"

"Screw the rules! I make my own path!"

"Great! Now say that again once you can walk on water!"

"Damn it, _Kakashi_! Get back here – _ack_!"

* * *

 _Obito was lunging at him, mismatched eyes furious, a deadly spike jutting out from his right hand._

 _His own hand had a Raikiri crackling. He moved to pierce through Obito's chest, angling his own body so that Obito's weapon pierced through his side and not his torso._

 _Only it was Rin's chest he had pierced through, and he was twelve again, exhaustion dragging at his limbs and grief wrenching through him._

 _But Naruto's face stared back at him when he looked, blue eyes accusing and mouth bloody._

 _"You're trash, sensei," Naruto said, blood dripping from his mouth and down onto his skin, burning with the touch. "Why didn't you protect us?"_

 _"I'm sorry," he said, numb. He couldn't move his arm, the all-too-familiar warmth of being inside another's body sickening._

 _There were hands all over him, pulling at his limbs and streaking blood over his clothes and skin. One went to his left eye, scratching at Obito's Sharingan—_

There was a stifled cry, and it took Kakashi too long to realize that it had come from him. His blankets were twisted around him, and it was a minute before he could untangle himself from the sheets and sit up, wiping at the cold sweat that had formed on his forehead.

Kakashi shivered slightly, the air in his bedroom cold against his skin. He felt tacky with sweat, and his breaths came harshly, sounding loud to his ears.

There was no one else here.

It shouldn't have felt as awful as it did.

* * *

 **In case it's not clear, Kakashi is suffering from PTSD. So's Naruto, but Naruto's been doing his best to ignore it. Granted, they're both getting off a little lightly compared to what they left behind, since Naruto is physically 5 and this brain hasn't actually _experienced_ that trauma. So it's his mind that's dealing with the aftereffects of what he remembers. Same for Kakashi. Because the mind and the brain are different things from what I know.**

 **But you guys aren't here for a biology lecture. Neither are the characters. But guess what's coming next chapter? It's a Naruto-focused one, and it was kind of fun to write. Like I said, there isn't going to be any character bashing this fic, and all characters get a fair shaking regardless of how jerkish they become in the future in canon.**

 **I thrive off feedback! :D Hopefully I'll have another chapter finished so I can post Chapter 4 next week.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Real life issues came up, so I didn't manage to finish Chapter 7 until this week. But it's done, and the next chapter's going up! This chapter is _all_ from Naruto's POV. And guess who else is playing a starring role in it? (Okay, probably not much of a guess...)**

 **Some of you have raised questions about Sakura. There are a few different reasons for Sakura not making an appearance at this point, although she'll be making a showing in Chapter 7. One of the reasons is that she's from a civilian family; Naruto knows this, so he's also warier about approaching her. The other thing is that Sasuke kind of always comes first for him. (Even though he has a rather unhealthy relationship with Sasuke, but anyway, canon is weird.)**

 **And the other major thing is...Naruto is _really_ good at deliberately not thinking about things if they're awful. Or if he can't do anything about them for a while. It's not the healthiest coping mechanism, but it's worked for him.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

* * *

Finding Sasuke was easier said than done.

Seriously. Naruto would've thought finding one five-year-old in Konoha would be easy, right? Especially if that five-year-old was Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke was many things, but _subtle_ was not one of them.

Man, if he could use his sage mode, finding Sasuke would be easy. But he couldn't. Because he didn't want to turn into a toad statue.

Damn it, he would need to undergo that training again to be sure that he didn't mess up with gathering natural energy.

But that was in the future. For now Naruto could barely walk on water without falling through every ten seconds. It peeved him that Kakashi had to keep grabbing hold of him so he wouldn't fall when they were having a conversation.

Even his tree climbing was substandard.

Naruto shot the nearest tree a glare.

Maybe it would be easier if he wasn't so tired. He hadn't been getting a lot of sleep lately, and this younger body was used to sleeping more.

Interlinking his fingers behind his head, Naruto turned his gaze up to the blue sky, considering where he might be able to find Sasuke.

The Uchiha district was a possibility… Albeit a possibility that he couldn't get into without his ANBU guards interfering.

Or maybe they wouldn't? They were supposed to be discreet, right? They only interfered if he was in danger.

And the Uchiha weren't going to jump him in broad daylight.

Naruto should check the playground first, though. Just in case. He already had, but maybe Sasuke had shown up after he left.

Nodding resolutely, Naruto broke into a run as he headed in the direction of the playground.

He didn't think he'd ever done so much running around Konoha before, but it was all part of his program to rehabilitate his body and get better. Naruto couldn't yet tell if it was working, but hopefully he'd see results soon.

He needed to get his kage bunshin back so he could really up his training.

Kakashi couldn't do all this alone.

Naruto slowed once he approached the playground, breathing evening out several seconds later. There were lots of kids around, their parents lurking on the sidelines.

Swallowing despite himself, Naruto tucked his hands in his pockets and continued walking forwards, ignoring the looks the parents shot his way once they noticed his presence. The kids didn't pay attention until the parents pulled them aside when Naruto came too close, and then they were also looking at Naruto as if they could determine what was wrong with him.

Like there was anything wrong with him!

They just thought he was the Kyuubi.

Naruto resisted the urge to duck his head, keeping his head up and eyes scanning his surroundings for Sasuke. He would be smaller than Naruto remembered, but he'd still look mostly the same.

But Sasuke wasn't here.

Huffing, Naruto finished his circuit through the playground and settled on a swing, pushing it back and forth with his feet.

Sasuke wouldn't seriously be training _now_ , would he? He was only five.

Never mind that Kakashi had become a genin at five. Kakashi was different. Sasuke was also different, but he was a _different_ kind of different.

…That didn't make any sense even in Naruto's head.

But wait…Itachi was a shinobi already, wasn't he? And Sasuke idolized Itachi.

So if Sasuke wasn't on the playground…would he be with Itachi?

Like hell was Naruto going to be able to speak to Sasuke in private or pull him away from Itachi. He'd have to come up with something.

Eh, he could just wing it.

* * *

Note to self, just saying _wing it_ didn't always work.

Although in this case, Naruto had somehow managed to stumble across Itachi and Sasuke in the woods close to the Uchiha district. So…that was a point in his favor?

But now Naruto was faced with the problem of how to approach the two without seeming like a creep.

It could be that he was overthinking it? He was physically five. People didn't think five-year-olds were creeps unless they did something bad. Like kill everyone in the immediate vicinity.

Hell, Naruto didn't think Kakashi had been a creep at five even though he'd been a genin at that point. Obito's memories had shown a really cute Kakashi, even if they'd been colored by jealousy and frustration that a five-year-old was so much better than him.

Shaking his head, Naruto refocused on the rather adorable sight of an awestruck Sasuke watching a very young Itachi nail every target in the area with a combination of shuriken and kunai. Those moves were _very_ flashy…

"Oh cool," Naruto breathed. A second later his eyes widened and he clapped a hand over his mouth in reprimand because _shit he had not meant to say that_.

Sasuke didn't notice, but Itachi definitely did, his sharp eyes darting to where Naruto was hidden in the bushes.

Naruto froze, keeping his hand over his mouth to muffle the sound of his breathing.

"You can come out," Itachi said after a moment, leaning down to brace his hands on his knees. He was smiling, eyes still fixed on where Naruto was hiding.

"Who's there, big brother?" Sasuke asked, coming to stand by Itachi.

Itachi didn't answer, staring in the direction of Naruto. His smile didn't waver, and there was nothing but warmth in his dark eyes.

Why should there be anything else? This Itachi hadn't had to kill the Uchiha clan.

Naruto couldn't remember how old Itachi was supposed to be right now, but he still looked really young.

Hesitating, Naruto uncovered his mouth, setting both hands on the ground and digging his fingers in the dirt. He shifted to his knees, slowly standing to show himself to Itachi and Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw Naruto.

"Hello." Itachi's smile widened slightly. "Who might you be?"

Eh? What sort of kid spoke like that?

"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto's mouth said on autopilot. "That was really cool what you just did, ya know!" His mind caught up a second later, and then he was cringing, scrambling for what to say next. A hand went to scratch at the back of his head, and he grinned sheepishly. "Ah, sorry. You probably don't want me here, huh? I just…couldn't help it."

"Couldn't help spy on us?" Sasuke asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

Naruto laughed, letting his nerves creep into his voice. "I didn't mean it, honest! But that's cool, ya know! I want to be a shinobi, too!" He spread his legs, punching a hand in the air. "Just like the guy that ran me over the other day and then flew across the roofs!" He mentally apologized to Kakashi even as he made the accompanying hand movements to show what Kakashi had done.

Itachi's eyebrows raised. "You want to be a shinobi because someone ran into you?"

"But he was so cool!" Naruto said enthusiastically. "Just like you, ya know! How did you do that?" He gestured wildly to the targets and the kunai/shuriken embedded in them.

"My big brother's a shinobi," Sasuke said, pride in his voice. "He's _really_ good."

"Sasuke…" Itachi rested a hand on Sasuke's head, his smile turning slightly embarrassed.

"It's true!" Sasuke protested, looking up at Itachi in earnest. "You're already a chuunin!"

"Oh, really? That's awesome!" Naruto moved forwards, jumping over the bush he had hidden behind. Then he paused, making himself out to be embarrassed and hoping he was hitting the right notes. "But, er…what's a chuunin?"

"You don't know?" That definitely sounded like the Sasuke Naruto knew, all high and mighty.

It was easy enough for Naruto to reenact what would have been his response if he was actually five, loud voice and all. "Hey, it's not like I know everything, is it! Isn't a shinobi just a shinobi?"

"Sasuke, not everyone knows what shinobi are," Itachi said, mild recrimination in his tone. He turned to Naruto. "Naruto, you said? Shinobi have different ranks: genin, chuunin, and jounin. Genin are typically newer shinobi, those who have just graduated. Chuunin are shinobi who can lead squads. Jounin are the elite."

"And the Hokage?" Naruto asked, hoping he didn't sound _too_ eager.

"The Hokage is entirely different," Itachi said. "He's responsible for leading the village and taking care of the shinobi in it, ensuring the village is protected."

It was such an Itachi-esque answer that Naruto was impressed. The Itachi he had known had been older and tired. This one was young but somehow already had some of that weariness about him. Still, there was a vibrancy to him that hadn't been present when Naruto had seen him last. Although Itachi had been a walking corpse, then, so maybe that didn't count.

But the time _before_ that Itachi hadn't seemed very good either. So the point totally counted.

"So that's the old man, huh," Naruto said slowly, rubbing his chin.

"Old man?" Sasuke sounded offended on behalf of said old man, and Naruto had to resist the urge to burst out laughing.

Itachi just looked reluctantly amused.

"What – he's old, isn't he!" Naruto couldn't resist a grin, though. "But he is pretty awesome!" He looked back to Itachi. "And who're you? That's your little brother, yeah? Sasuke?"

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke said before Itachi could.

Itachi laid a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, smile soft. "I am Uchiha Itachi."

"Cool!" Naruto shot them both a thumbs up. "Like I said, my name's Uzumaki Naruto, ya know! And I'm gonna be a shinobi!" He'd leave the Hokage thing for later.

"Yeah?" Sasuke had a small smirk on his face. "So am I!"

Sensing that a barrier was down that hadn't been before, Naruto darted forwards, keeping only a small distance between him and Sasuke. "So we'll become shinobi together! Like a team, ya know! Like the chuunin Itachi here is!"

Instinctively, Naruto held his fist out for Sasuke to bump, remembering too late that fist bumping was something Octopops had done with him. Kakashi had caught on after a little while, as had Sakura and Sasuke, but they'd never done fist bumping before Octopops.

Sasuke stared at the fist Naruto held out, eyebrows scrunching together slightly. He glanced up at Itachi, whose expression was unreadable. Then, uncertainly, he looked back at Naruto, eyebrows still furrowed.

Naruto shuffled his feet, embarrassment creeping up his spine. He didn't drop his fist, though. He was made of sterner stuff than that. Besides, fist bumping was neat!

Slowly, Sasuke raised his own hand, knocking his knuckles against Naruto's. "Okay!"

Exhilaration coursed through Naruto, and he grinned broadly. When Sasuke smiled back, Naruto's heart quickened its beat.

Mission Find Sasuke and Become Friends with Him was a success!

* * *

Naruto hadn't packed any lunch, but Itachi and Sasuke were willing to share some of theirs with him. Minus the fact that there was no ramen and Sasuke's lunch had way too many tomatoes, Naruto didn't have any complaints.

"So you must know a lot of really cool stuff if your big bro is a shinobi!" Naruto promptly took a bite of a rice ball, leaning forward towards Sasuke.

"I…not really." Sasuke's eyes were downcast. "I'm not in the Academy yet, and big brother doesn't want me hurting myself."

"And yet you know how to throw a kunai," Itachi said dryly.

Sasuke ducked his head, rubbing one of his hands tellingly. "I'm not as good as you," he muttered.

"You're young still," Itachi said. "You have time."

"You were better than this," Sasuke protested.

Itachi didn't say anything, but Naruto could see his eyes tighten.

Was this where Sasuke's inferiority had stemmed from? That wasn't cool at all. Naruto didn't want Sasuke to be as bad as he'd been last time.

Yeah, that was _Sasuke_ , but that had also been really screwed up.

"But you're Sasuke, right?" Naruto asked, getting Sasuke's attention. "And he's Itachi! Maybe you'll be better later! I don't even know if I can throw a kunai right." He rubbed the side of his nose, laughing. "So you're already better than me, ya know."

"Hn." Nothing more was said, but Naruto could see a small smile twitching at Sasuke's lips.

Then, surprising Naruto, Sasuke said, "Do you want to learn how?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked at him.

"Do you want to learn how to throw a kunai?" Sasuke repeated. "I can show you."

"What – really? You'd do that?" Naruto's grin was hurting his cheeks. "Yeah! That'd be awesome!"

Naruto crammed his last rice ball into his mouth and sprung to his feet. Sasuke was more composed, but Naruto could read his body language and Sasuke was definitely excited to teach someone else.

This hadn't originally been in his plans, but Naruto could definitely see how well this could work out. Now he had more of a plausible reason to train like hell if Uchiha Itachi was a friend.

But first, he needed to not be a complete ace at throwing kunai. But not a complete dunce either.

"When are you going into the Academy?" Naruto asked as Sasuke gathered some kunai from the targets Itachi had nailed earlier.

"Next year," Sasuke answered.

"All right!" Naruto took a kunai, deliberately looping a finger through the hole at the end, keeping his fingers away from the pointy end. "I'll join, too! I just have to ask the old man."

Sasuke hesitated, frowning slightly as he looked at Naruto. "The old – the Hokage? Why not your parents?"

Naruto could tell that Itachi was listening very carefully, even if his body language was relaxed. So he shrugged, eyes on the kunai in Sasuke's hand; he copied the other's grip. "I don't know who my parents are. They died during the Kyuubi attack."

"Oh." Sasuke sounded a bit like he regretted asking. "I'm sorry."

Naruto shook his head. He didn't have to fake the slightly pained smile. "Don't be! I bet they were both really cool shinobi! And they helped protect Konoha!" He looked up to the sky, remembering his father's proud face and smile, his mother's warm hug and beaming grin. "So I want to be like them. I want to be _better_ than them!" Naruto met Sasuke's eyes, his smile more genuine now. "And this is step one to achieving that goal! C'mon, Sasuke! Teach me!"

Sasuke's smile was visible, which had always been a rare sight. He held up his own kunai. "All right! This is how you do it…"

* * *

Training with Kakashi that night had been an exercise in frustration, Naruto too sleepy to do much other than continually fail at walking on water. Kakashi had eventually called it quits and brought Naruto back to his apartment before disappearing to do his thing.

Although the last place Naruto wanted to be was his apartment.

It was lonely here and far too quiet. Besides, he'd wanted to spend time with Kakashi and catch him up on Sasuke and Itachi. As it was, Naruto had probably managed to blurt out half of what happened in-between falling and inhaling water.

Kakashi had seemed more amused than frustrated at Naruto's lack of progress, which was easy enough for him because _he'd_ gotten the hang of tree and water walking in no time.

Naruto _should_ try to sleep, though. He hadn't been getting a lot since coming back in-between training with Kakashi and the nightmares.

Rolling over onto his side, Naruto curled his knees into his chest, bringing his right hand up. There was no sign of the scratches he'd received earlier that day from throwing kunai with Sasuke.

He'd need to come up with an explanation for that next time he saw Sasuke.

As soon as he slept…

 _Sasuke was screaming, the sound utter agony. And then it cut off, his voice gone like it had never existed._

 _He couldn't see Sasuke. There was no sign of his best friend. And he was looking, running through shapeless white bodies and the bodies of shinobi that had fallen in this last battle._

 _Lightning flickered off to the side, Kakashi releasing one of his massive jutsu. There was a howl from the Hachibi._

 _He was running, feet stumbling over cracks and body parts. But there was no sign of Sasuke._

 _He almost tripped over a Zetsu head, but when he caught himself he was standing in the massive crater that the Juubi had created before Obito had become its jinchuuriki._

 _Sasuke stood close by, both eyes Sharingan-red and his sword at the ready. Sakura stood at his other side, the diamond seal dark on her forehead._

 _But where was Kakashi?_

 _"Pay attention!" Sasuke barked out._

 _"I'm paying attention," he snapped back instinctively, a Rasengan whirling to life in his right hand. But, wait, had he been able to do one-handed Rasengans now? Wasn't that later?_

 _Sasuke had gone off ahead, and Sakura was punching out smaller versions of the Juubi._

 _And he – he aimed his Rasengan at the closest enemy. Only it wasn't an offshoot of the Juubi he struck._

 _It was a young Sasuke._

 _"N-Naruto." Sasuke coughed out blood, looking up at him with betrayed eyes. "Why?"_

 _And then it wasn't the young Sasuke he was looking at. It was **his** Sasuke, and his eyes were bleeding, his left arm torn in half and a hole punched through his chest with his own sword, and he was **dead** —_

 _He fell to his knees besides Sasuke's body, clutching at it and **screaming**_.

Naruto jerked awake with a stifled yell, hand in his mouth to muffle the scream. With a scramble, he threw off his blankets and was on the other side of the bedroom, huddled in a corner.

A dream, a dream, it was just a _dream_.

He hadn't killed Sasuke.

Breathing raggedly, shoulders shuddering in near sobs, Naruto buried his face in his hands.

Shit, shit, _shit_.

Naruto should've expected something like this after seeing Sasuke today.

Sasuke's death during the war was one of his greatest regrets. He hadn't been there for his friend. He'd been on the other side of the field, too busy defending other shinobi and trusting in Sasuke to be able to protect himself.

But Madara…

Madara had taken Sasuke's sword and driven it through his chest after making damn well sure that Sasuke knew how outclassed he was. How inferior Sasuke's eyes were in comparison to Madara's, and how little hope they had of beating an Uchiha with another Uchiha, even one with an eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

And Sasuke had died, Madara retreating after that. He'd made some comment about enjoying seeing them all sink into despair, but it was probably Obito and Kakashi teaming up with Kamui that had prompted him to leave before Naruto could pummel him into the ground.

Not that Naruto could have done much aside from toss Madara around. Even as the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, the jinchuuriki of the Juubi was in an entirely different class.

Fingers digging into his head, Naruto struggled to compose himself.

Crying wasn't going to do anyone any good. Not now. Not ever.

The war hadn't started yet. Madara was dead. Obito was alive and masquerading as him. Sasuke was alive and knew nothing of the pain his older self had experienced.

All Naruto could do was pick himself up and keep moving forward.

With a shaky exhale, Naruto let his head fall back against the wall with a soft thump, rubbing at his eyes with a hand. He closed them a second later, focusing on his breathing.

What a sorry mess he was. And there was no one he could spend the night with in silent companionship.

Something tugged at the back of his mind, and the seal on his stomach warmed for an instant before fading.

Naruto's breath punched out of him, and he grasped at his stomach. _Kurama?_

There was no response.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto shut his eyes and let himself fall back into the depths of his mind, to the shared space between him and Kurama.

His feet were wet with water, and the sound of dripping filled his ears. The air was still, but there was no wind in this place. Not here in his mind.

The cage stood before him, an unfamiliar sight after so long without it. The doors were shut, the seal intact like it had never been tampered with.

And within it…

"Kurama?" Naruto asked, hardly daring to breathe. His voice sounded deeper than what it should have been, and he looked down, surprised to see his adult self staring back in the water's reflection. "Oh." He reached a hand up to touch his hair, longer than it was in his current physical body.

"Naruto." Kurama's voice was as guttural as always, only this time it sounded tired in a way that signaled severe chakra exhaustion.

Naruto's head jerked up. "Kurama!" He darted forwards, water splashing as he moved. "Is it you?"

"Of course it's me." Kurama stared balefully at him, teeth bared in a familiar grin. "Who else would it be?"

Naruto slipped through the bars, coming to a stop by one of Kurama's paws. "It might not have been you!" he protested. "You know what a grump you were back then!"

"Hmph." Kurama huffed, his breath hot. "Be that as it may, I'm here."

Naruto paused, wonder spreading through him. He…wasn't alone. His friend was _here_. "Yeah," he breathed, eyes stinging. "You _are_."

"Eh?" Kurama looked vaguely alarmed. "Are you crying?"

"Of course I'm crying!" Naruto shouted, pointing at Kurama. "I thought you didn't come back! But you did! Why the hell shouldn't I cry if I'm happy?"

"Why wouldn't I come back?" Kurama asked. "I'm an embodiment of chakra, Naruto. Chakra isn't constrained to time as you know it."

Naruto sniffed, rubbing at his eyes. "You could've told me that, you know. You and Gyuuki didn't say anything."

"We didn't know," Kurama said. "No one's ever done this jutsu before."

"Except us," Naruto said, taking a deep breath. Eyes dry, he looked up at Kurama, glad that he was in his normal adult body here. "We're here, Kurama. We made it."

"Yeah." Kurama grinned. "We did. How's Kakashi?"

"Oh, you know." Naruto linked his hands behind his head, grinning. "Being his usual awesome self. Which I would be, too, if my chakra control weren't shot to hell and back. I mean, Kakashi-sensei's control's bad, too, but he's getting the hang of it. A lot faster than me…" he grumbled.

Kurama snorted. "He's a genius, isn't he? That's what they all said."

"Yeah. He is." Naruto's grin turned fond. "He'll be glad to know you're here. Which reminds me…" He glanced back to the doors. "I should unseal this—"

"You don't have the key."

"Eh?" Naruto's eyes turned to Kurama.

"Don't you remember?" Kurama lifted a talon to point to Naruto's stomach. "That sage handed over the key after he died so that you could start the process of mastering my chakra. You don't have the key now, so unlocking it without unleashing me in the middle of your village isn't going to work."

"Oh." Naruto touched his stomach, half turning so he could look up at the locked doors. "Shit."

"It doesn't matter," Kurama said, sighing. "I still need to regain my chakra. Traveling back in time took practically all of it."

"Is that why I couldn't get in contact with you before?" Naruto asked.

"Yes." Kurama settled back down, one of his eyes still several feet above Naruto's head. "Don't expect much from me for the next several days either. The seal's intact, so communication's going to be tricky unless you come here."

"I'll be here," Naruto said, nodding. "And I'll see what I can do about the seal. We're partners, ya know. It wouldn't do if I leave you here, would it?"

"I know, Naruto." Kurama sounded amused. "Now go. Your yakking is keeping me from sleeping."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto backed out of the cage, grinning loosely. "I'll be seeing you, Kurama. Sweet dreams!"

Naruto pulled himself out before Kurama could say anything else, opening his eyes to the dark of his bedroom.

Several moments later, Naruto started giggling. He tried to stop, but the laughter bubbled up despite himself. He just…

Kurama was _here_. It wasn't just Kakashi and him.

And Naruto was crying before he realized what was happening. Which – what the _hell_ – couldn't his body just stick to an emotion?

Shaking his head, Naruto rubbed at his eyes even as the tears kept flowing.

Maybe…maybe crying was okay in this instant. Happy tears were different from sad ones.

And Naruto was so happy.

* * *

Naruto had his own lunch packed the next day, but he was rather disappointed to see Itachi nowhere around when he met up with Sasuke.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto ran into the small clearing, seeing Sasuke sitting on the tall boulder that had served as their lunch spot yesterday.

Sasuke inclined his head in Naruto's direction, graceful even as a five-year-old. It kind of made Naruto envious. "Naruto."

Naruto paused at the base of the boulder, making a show of looking for Itachi. "Where's Itachi?"

Sasuke jumped down from the boulder, landing besides Naruto. "He had a mission."

"And you're here." Naruto paused, the ramifications of that settling in.

"Of course I am." Sasuke folded his arms, giving Naruto an unimpressed look. "I said I would be, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but…" Naruto knelt, setting his lunch down, carefully not looking at Sasuke. "That usually doesn't mean anything."

It never had in the past. Anyone he tried making friends with always ended up avoiding him the next day because of their parents warning him off. So that Sasuke was _here_ …it was surprising.

Even if relieving as well.

"You can't be a good shinobi if you can't even throw a kunai," Sasuke huffed, shoving a kunai into Naruto's hands. "Let's see if you've improved any today."

Naruto had to resist the urge to grin sheepishly. He'd probably screwed it up yesterday by pretending to be _really_ awful. His kunai had gone awry, flying into the tree branches and anywhere but the targets. The only kunai that he'd somewhat aimed purposefully had been the ones that almost hit his ANBU stalkers.

They'd had to switch trees quickly to avoid getting scratched.

"Practice makes perfect, right?" Naruto swung the kunai around in circles, using his finger as a focal point. "Show me the stance again!"

"Hn." Sasuke turned to face the closest target, demonstrating the stance that Naruto hadn't learned the last time he'd been in the Academy. It was a little different from the standard style the Academy taught, but Naruto wasn't going to complain. Sasuke had been a _badass_ at throwing kunai and shuriken.

This time when Naruto started throwing his kunai, he made an effort at not being absolutely terrible. He didn't think Sasuke would notice him deliberately aiming his kunai off the mark, although he tried to mess it up enough that the ANBU wouldn't get suspicious.

"You're learning fast," Sasuke noted, sounding a mixture of pleased and surprised.

Naruto laughed, turning his head to beam at Sasuke. "I've always been really good at learning with my body! But books? They make my head hurt."

The corner of Sasuke's mouth tipped up. "My brother says there's a lot of reading to do in the Academy."

"What?" Naruto made a show of looking absolutely aghast. "But why? Shinobi don't need books! They just need to beat up the bad guys!"

Sasuke tilted his head. "Shinobi do that, but they also need to know what's going on around them. How are you going to know if the Hokage is on good terms with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire if you don't read?" He paused, then added with a hint of pride, "My brother graduated early. He couldn't have done that without reading."

Naruto paused, holding back from his default response. He wanted to be different, right? So… "I _guess_ that makes sense," he conceded, bending down to pick up another kunai. He rubbed a thumb over the flat edge. "Which means I'm gonna need to _read_."

"It's not that bad," Sasuke said. "You won't be doing it alone."

"You mean you'll help?"

"Well…" Sasuke averted his eyes, a hint of red dusting his cheeks. "We're going to be shinobi together, right? If you can't even throw a kunai straight, I don't know if you can read properly. Which means I'll need to help you."

That was the kind of convoluted Sasuke logic that Naruto simultaneously loved and hated. Only this time the Sasuke spouting it was a lot cuter. Because he was small and tiny and squishy.

A second later Naruto realized he was also small and tiny and squishy and that these thoughts were horrifying and he needed brain bleach.

He could hear Kakashi snickering at him and his sensei wasn't even anywhere close by.

"That's awfully nice of you, Sasuke," Naruto said eventually, teasing just a _little_. He couldn't help it. This Sasuke was too easy.

"Shut it!" Sasuke snapped, cheeks definitely red now. "You'll definitely need the help!"

Naruto laughed, rubbing under his nose. "Ehh, probably. But I know I'll do great with you, Sasuke!"

"Hm." Sasuke turned, his ears distinctly pink.

Naruto had to hide his grin behind a hand, because that vocalization was different from Sasuke's _other_ one. This was a _pleased_ sound.

Wait, did Itachi have those types of vocalizations? Naruto would need to find out. He would be disappointed if it wasn't just a Sasuke thing, because then he would have to learn Itachi's mannerisms.

Turning back to the target, Naruto continued practicing, letting Sasuke adjust his stance every now and then while he threw kunai. It was boring, so he couldn't help but let his mind wander to what Kakashi was probably doing.

"Huh." Sasuke's surprised voice drew Naruto back to the present. "That was fast."

"Eh – ahhh." Naruto stared at the last so many throws he'd done absentmindedly. They were all perfect bull's-eyes. Rubbing the back of his head, he looked to Sasuke. "I did say I learned fast with my body, ya know?"

Sasuke didn't look upset, though. There was a hint of excitement in his dark eyes, and he started pulling out shuriken.

"The stance is similar with these," Sasuke said, showing how to hold them. "But throwing is a little trickier because they move differently."

"Awesome!" Naruto took several shuriken. "I'll be an amazing shinobi in no time! Soon I'll even be flying across roofs like that other guy!"

"The one who ran into you, you mean?" Sasuke asked, amused.

"Yeah, that one!" Naruto slumped as if disappointed. "He just gave me a quick 'sorry' and ran off. He could've paid for the paint…"

"Paint?"

"Yeah!" Naruto flung out a shuriken without thinking, knocking it into one of the kunai that was in the bull's-eye. It knocked the kunai out and fell to the grass. Pretending to ignore what had just happened, Naruto linked his hands behind his head. "It was gonna be a really good prank, too! But he knocked everything over… At least I know that getting that color out is going to be a _pain_." He snickered, remembering how orange Kakashi's fingers had been that night.

Sasuke eyed Naruto with what looked like curiosity. "You…do pranks?"

"Of course I do!" Naruto managed to hold his grin for a few seconds before it faded, an old pain resonating in his chest. "I mean…it's not like I can play with anyone…" He shrugged, hands still linked behind his head.

"Why not?" Sasuke asked, head tilting inquisitively. "There are civilians that would play with you."

"Their parents are all like 'Don't go near that boy! He's _baaad_.'" Naruto drew the word out, lips twisting. "Not that I did anything to _them_. I mean, I probably could if I wanted to? But I haven't, so I don't know why they're being so mean."

Naruto let his hands drop, fingering the shuriken that he hadn't let go. After a moment he threw one, purposefully making sure it missed its mark and dropped short of the target. "Not that it matters!" He turned to Sasuke, painting on a bright grin. "I'm gonna be totally awesome, and then they'll be sorry they never got to know me!"

Sasuke said nothing, throwing his own shuriken and hitting the target dead on. "It's their loss," he said eventually, side-eyeing Naruto. He held out another shuriken, a smirk playing at his lips that Naruto was all too familiar with. "Come on. You're not going to get anywhere without knowing how to throw a shuriken."

Returning Sasuke's smirk with a grin, Naruto shot him a thumbs up.

This was going so well that Naruto couldn't help but wonder if there was going to be a catch.

Maybe Sasuke hadn't told his parents what he was doing? His best friend always had a bit of a rebellious streak to him…

* * *

 _The Juubi's roar was terrifyingly loud, the sound itself somehow transforming into wind that shook trees and reshaped the land around its body. It was a sound of destruction and death and calamity and heralded the end._

 _And an instant later, the bijuudama it fired enveloped the land._

 _The heat was blistering, but then it was suddenly **cold** before there was absolutely nothing at all._

 _He hadn't had any time to react, to reach out with Kurama's cloak to shield his allies._

 _When the dust cleared, when the sound died out, when the energy from the bijuudama dissipated finally, he didn't want to look to confirm what his senses had already told him._

 _He was **alone** alonealone **alone**._

 _Ashes drifted about him, and he didn't want to breathe, didn't want to take in the remnants of his friends' remains. Why was he still alive?_

 _There was no use in being alive when everyone else was dead and he couldn't defeat the Juubi by **himself**._

 _There was another deafening roar, and this time he closed his eyes, let Kurama's chakra go, and waited—_

 _Only to open his eyes when two hands grasped hold of his shoulders and he was looking into Kakashi's eyes, his sensei shaking him and yelling in his face._

 _This wasn't the same battlefield as before. There was no Juubi towering over them. There was just Madara, horrifyingly white due to the Juubi's chakra, and Obito struggling against him, using his Mangekyou Sharingan to its full extent to dodge Madara's attacks._

 _He reached out with trembling fingers, pressing a hand to Kakashi's flak jacket, pushing in until he could feel Kakashi's heart thundering. His sensei was alive and he was going to damn well keep it that way._

 _Kakashi grabbed his wrist and turned, pulling him alongside as they ran._

 _Several steps later, he was running down a street in Konoha, no longer by Kakashi but rather Sasuke and Sakura. They were younger than he remembered, both of them looking twelve._

 _He breathed, relief/agony/terror ringing through them even though there was no sign of war around him. It couldn't be that easy, could it?_

 _His friends slowed to a walk, and he did as well, looking over his shoulder for Kakashi but not seeing him. Butterflies swam in his stomach, and he wished he knew where his sensei was._

 _Dropping a beat behind Sakura and Sasuke, he watched his surroundings warily. Nothing was ever as good as it seemed—_

 _The ground shook; he kept on his feet just barely. The sky darkened, and he looked up instinctively, mouth going dry in terror when he saw the moon._

 _It was red._

When Naruto woke, he had something stuffed in his mouth to muffle his scream. After a moment, he realized it was his blanket, and he spat the cloth out, breathing heavily through his mouth.

He reached up to rub his forehead, uncaring of the tears smeared over his cheeks.

The end of that dream hadn't been that terrifying. Why was he so scared?

They had red moons all the time, usually because of something funky with the atmosphere, but red moons plus tomoes signaled something bad. Usually they managed to kick down Madara before he could pull the Infinite Tsukuyomi off, although by the end he'd gotten so irritated with the "mangy rats" that he'd bypassed the genjutsu altogether in favor of hunting them down.

Naruto still wasn't sure if that was something to be proud of or not. He opted for pride; Kakashi opted for a quiet weariness and planning for the next attack.

But that dream hadn't been the worst he'd had, so Naruto didn't know why his heart was beating so quickly, why his skin was clammy with sweat, or why he couldn't quite get his breathing to even out. He'd had worse, so why was this one hitting him so hard?

Naruto rolled over onto his back, kicking the blankets off to let the cool air in his apartment touch his skin.

He hadn't trained with Kakashi tonight. His sensei had dropped by, told Naruto to rest up, and then left. Naruto hadn't been able to tell him anything about what happened today with Sasuke or ask about how Kakashi was doing.

He hadn't been able to talk with Kakashi since the last time they'd trained, and that time he'd been so exhausted that he wasn't sure if he'd said anything coherent.

Naruto missed talking with Kakashi. He'd gotten too used to being able to spend time with his sensei day in and day out, even if the circumstances hadn't been the best.

Naruto missed talking with _anyone_ , but Kakashi especially. His sensei understood things in a way Sasuke and Sakura didn't, having lived through another war and more death than any of his students had. So Naruto had a lot to talk with him about as the war dragged on, and as he began to understand more about Kakashi than he ever had as a child.

Watching the shadows play on the ceiling, Naruto laid the back of his hand against his forehead, exhaling softly. The shakiness was gradually leaving, and he thought he could probably get up without stumbling over thin air now.

Not that he had anywhere to go aside from finding out where Kakashi lived.

It would be a mission for tomorrow night Naruto figured. Especially if he had another nightmare.

He had no doubt Kakashi was having just as many difficulties, only he was too idiotic to say anything about it. His sensei always liked punishing himself.

But Naruto wasn't going to have it. Not on his watch.

* * *

 **I'm trying to get the dream sequences to be kind of more like dreams. Dreams mixed in with memories. Those can be weird, so I'm trying to go for that eerie quality. Or that quality where you wake up after a dream and you're terrified for no apparent reason because the dream wasn't _that_ scary. (Or is that just me?) Naruto's memory isn't as clear as Kakashi's for obvious reasons, but sometimes that can be worse.**

 **But, hey! Several developments! Sasuke makes an appearance! A wild Kurama appears! (And uses companionship; it's super effective!) Next chapter will be back to Kakashi.**

 **I'm trying to get to a time skip, but it's taking longer than expected. Things keep cropping up. It's usually a problem in all my fics...**

 **I'd love to hear feedback on the chapter! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, honestly I wasn't expecting another chapter so quickly either. But Chapter 8's done, so I'm gonna go ahead and put up this one for now. No promises on how quickly Chapter 6 will go up, though.**

 **That said, I am living for your reviews. They are awesome. Thanks so much! It's been enjoyable writing this, so I'm super glad to see you guys enjoying it as well.**

 **Plot... We're slowly getting there. In the meantime, have more character interactions! This chapter is a bit of a rollercoaster emotionally speaking, but then this is Kakashi we're talking about.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

* * *

Kakashi couldn't remember the last time he had gone shopping. It must have been…six years ago? Five? Since he hadn't really gone shopping after the war started. Foraging for weapons and food didn't count. There was no exchange of money involved.

So now he was shopping in Konoha. And trying not to look too out of sorts while he did so. He wasn't sure if he was succeeding, but thankfully his rather standoffish demeanor at this age had something going for it.

It was just too bad that he didn't yet have any of his books to pull out and read. They generally did a fantastic job of scaring away anyone who wanted to engage in conversation with him (unless that person was Gai). Kakashi needed to get them again, even if it would make Naruto groan because "sen _sei_ , those books are so _boring_."

Some people just didn't appreciate the artistry of funny sex and plot mixed together. Not that Kakashi really understood the whole sex thing, but Jiraiya made it seem more interesting with his vivid description. For one thing, it was downright hilarious, and the plot was a benefit, along with how the protagonists fell in love with each other.

Other people probably found it funny, too, didn't they? Giggling while reading was normally a way to convey humor.

Not for the first time, Kakashi was rather glad he wasn't a kunoichi specializing in _those_ types of missions.

Bags in hand, Kakashi walked down the street, attention split between his destination and his surroundings. Everyone seemed so happy and bright. It was jarring after spending so long in misery and gloom.

Naruto was probably doing well in this kind of environment. He had always been the type of person to like being around other people, even more so when the people were upbeat and happy.

Of course, that was without factoring in the Kyuubi, since he was currently five and not the adult that had gained the village's respect.

It was a messy aspect of time travel that Kakashi wasn't too fond of.

The _other_ aspect was having to pretend to be more standoffish and angsty than he was used to being. (He got the sensation that someone was laughing at him. Probably not Naruto.)

"Hey, Kakashi!" Gai's voice caught his attention, and Kakashi turned his head just enough to see Gai eating dumplings with several other jounin. He thought he recognized Genma, and that was definitely Kurenai and Asuma.

Kakashi didn't verbally respond, but he shifted his bags so he could raise a hand in acknowledgement, continuing to head down the street.

He had no desire to interact with three jounin that he hadn't seen in years. Asuma had been dead for months before the Fourth Shinobi War, and Kurenai had died in childbirth, her child following soon after. As it turned out, giving birth in war conditions wasn't necessarily the smartest idea. Even with capable medics on hand.

Shikamaru had never really recovered afterwards.

Kakashi…well, Kakashi had plenty of practice at ignoring what needed to be ignored to focus on what mattered.

He hadn't seen Genma after the war started since the man had been responsible for guarding the daimyo. That job had gone tits up and all they'd been able to find were corpses.

"My rival!" Gai's voice sounded muffled, like he'd just stuffed a bunch of dumplings in his mouth.

"Hm?" Kakashi didn't stop, didn't acknowledge Gai in any other way.

"It's time for another of our challenges!" Gai continued, snatching one of Kakashi's bags out of his hand before he could protest. Kakashi almost whipped out a kunai but managed to stay his hand at the last second. "I could not find you yesterday."

"I was around," Kakashi said noncommittally, eyeing his bag in Gai's hand in dismay. There were eggs in there. He hoped Gai wouldn't smash it against something.

"Around where?" Gai asked enthusiastically, swinging the bag around dangerously. "Ooh, I bet you were doing something hip and cool, weren't you?"

Kakashi made a vague noise of agreement, calculating whether he could snatch the bag from Gai's grip before his eggs were a lost cause. Knowing Gai, it might just turn into an impromptu wrestling match, and then the eggs _would_ be goners.

He'd been working on stealth the other day, which was another exercise in chakra control. Some stealth tactics required no chakra control at all; others were a little more delicate and elaborate.

Yesterday had seen him stalking several ANBU patrols without anyone being the wiser. He wasn't sure whether to be proud of his skills or mortified for the ANBU.

Kakashi was going to go for mortified.

But then maybe he was demanding too much of them? It wasn't as if one needed to be a jounin to get into ANBU. Itachi had been chuunin when he joined.

Kakashi had been – as he usually was – an anomaly.

In any case, Kakashi was going to up the training regime for his team once he was allowed to show his masked face again. They'd hate him, but they'd thank him for it later when it would save their hides.

"Well, rival?" Gai said when Kakashi didn't speak. "It's your turn to pick!"

They had three stalkers today, Kakashi noted. They weren't doing a very good job of being subtle, but then Kakashi should've expected that.

He'd never acknowledged Gai before when walking by that dumpling shop.

"I need to drop this off," Kakashi said instead. He took the bag with eggs from Gai before the other could protest. "You head to the third training ground. I'll meet you there."

"Yosh!" Gai gave him a thumbs up, teeth gleaming as he grinned. "I will see you there, my rival!"

Kakashi ignored the others, continuing on his slow pace back to his apartment.

Gai was patient, and it wasn't like Kakashi was in a hurry.

* * *

Asuma, Kurenai, and Genma were also at Training Ground 3 when Kakashi finally made his way there. Gai was doing push-ups in an exuberant manner that was unique to Gai. And Rock Lee when he got into it.

Kakashi kind of missed Rock Lee. The boy had been their taijutsu powerhouse after Gai—

In any case, Gai was here, and Kakashi was rather nervous about this challenge. Not that he would publicly admit it, but he was honest with himself.

"Rival!" Gai sprang to his feet, pointing at Kakashi. "What is the challenge?"

Kakashi walked past Gai and to the edge of the water, hands in his pockets. He looked over his shoulder to his friend. "Taijutsu only, this time on the water. Same rules as last time. Since they're here"—he nodded to the other shinobi—"they can keep track of the time. It's half an hour unless Gai manages to hit me."

"I will definitely hit you this time, Kakashi!" Gai proclaimed. "And if I do not, then I will do two thousand push-ups on my thumbs!"

Kakashi spared a brief moment to wince for Gai's thumbs before nodding. It wasn't as if he could say anything. He'd done those types of push-ups in the hospital when no one was around.

"Oh, this should be good," Asuma said, cigarette in his mouth. "Thirty minutes, you said?"

"Unless he hits me," Kakashi clarified, taking a few seconds to properly channel his chakra before stepping on the water.

Gai joined Kakashi on the water, putting an appropriate amount of distance between them.

"All right, you two," Genma drawled, senbon wiggling with the movements. "Ready…begin!"

It was definitely more official than most of Kakashi's challenges with Gai were, but he wasn't complaining. Not that there was room to complain given how fast Gai was on him.

Kakashi sprung backwards, avoiding most of the water that Gai displaced with his punch.

At least now he wouldn't have to deal with cleaning up the training ground.

No, focus!

Sparring with Gai on water was a great deal more difficult than doing it on dry land. Kakashi definitely still wasn't up to par, too much attention focused on keeping his chakra balanced properly so he wouldn't go under the water.

It might work for a dodge, but only if he could follow up with ninjutsu. And that wasn't an option here.

Kakashi backpedaled rapidly as Gai came after him, eventually darting past him and back in the direction they had come from. He leapt forwards just as Gai tried to jump on him.

He landed, chakra almost slipping through his grip as he had to also sidestep Gai's next punch. Then it was back to a whirling dance of dodging Gai's attacks and blinking water out of his eye.

His eye.

Kakashi still hadn't uncovered his Sharingan.

And at this rate he wasn't going to because using his Sharingan in conjunction with water walking might be overkill.

Not that he needed it. Gai's movements were easy enough to read, and Kakashi wasn't that slow even with half his attention focused on his chakra.

As if to spite him, Kakashi's grip on his chakra slipped, and his feet sank several inches before he could grapple it back to where it needed to be. At the same time, Gai's foot went through the space where Kakashi's head had been moments before.

Oh, like _hell_ was Kakashi losing this challenge because of lousy chakra control.

Determination surging through him, Kakashi kept up the pace, attention narrowing to the beat of his heart, Gai's steady presence, and the balancing of his chakra. The burning in his muscles was inconsequential; he could push through this.

Gai was also beginning to look just a little winded from trying to keep up the pace.

How much longer would it take? Kakashi had stopped keeping track of the time since they had others to do it.

Most battles were over in minutes. Unless one was Naruto and had the stamina to go for ages longer. Kakashi wasn't Naruto, and he always tried to get fights over as quickly as possible.

If fights went on for longer periods of time, it was usually interspersed with moments where he could take a break. Where the enemy also had to pull back and reevaluate what their next move would be. It was never thirty minutes of nonstop fighting, because Kakashi was better than that and no enemy would give Sharingan no Kakashi thirty minutes to get the drop on them.

Because inevitably it would end with the enemy's death. Or incapacitation.

Yet Kakashi wasn't aiming to kill anyone here. Playing defense was much more tiring than going on the offensive and trying to end the fight quickly. Especially since Gai had a lot of stamina.

Kakashi hoped that it was almost thirty minutes by the time he felt his grip on his chakra slipping more and more. His fumbles at least didn't cost him anything beyond a few precious seconds where he had to get back on top of the water. It probably didn't even look like anything since Gai's hits kept missing because he clearly didn't expect Kakashi to suddenly _drop_.

Since Kakashi didn't expect it himself, how could he telegraph it?

Still, it sucked.

Pulling in a ragged breath, Kakashi kept low and jumped out of Gai's reach.

This time when his feet hit the water, his chakra faltered entirely, and he dropped like a stone. Just in time to hear Genma yell "Time!"

Kakashi spent a moment giving fervent thanks to the person watching over him.

Then he hauled himself out of the water and walked back to dry land, taking no shame in sitting down to catch his breath.

Gai joined him seconds later, hands on his knees as he caught his own breath. He was as soaked as Kakashi was, but he didn't look nearly as exhausted. "Well done, my rival!" He grinned widely, teeth gleaming. "You win another one!"

Kakashi tipped his head in acknowledgement, planting his hands behind him so he could lean back.

"Well, that was something," Genma said, sounding carefully bland.

"He won our last two challenges as well!" Gai stood upright, rolling his shoulders.

"When did you guys have two other challenges?" Asuma sounded surprised.

"This week!"

"What – seriously?" Asuma stared at Kakashi like he was sick. Considering Kakashi normally did his best to get out of challenges issued by Gai, this wasn't surprising.

Kakashi shrugged, keeping his tone dismissive as he responded. "It's training."

"Doing rock-paper-scissors is training?" Asuma asked, disbelieving.

"This was." Kakashi turned back to the water, raising a hand to tick off each of his points. "Agility training, chakra control, and endurance. Rock-paper-scissors has its own merits," he added mildly.

Asuma snorted. "Luck?"

"Reflexes," Kakashi answered, only half-bullshitting it.

Kurenai tilted her head. "I can see that…"

"Uh-huh." Asuma still seemed rather dubious, which was to be expected given his familiarity with Kakashi's usual tendencies. Kurenai was still too naïve – had been even as a jounin. Her indignation over Kakashi reading _Icha Icha_ in public was still amusing to remember.

It wasn't as if it was hurting anyone, was it?

"As expected from my rival!" Gai proclaimed, dropping to start his push-ups. "No challenge goes without merit!"

Okay, Kakashi couldn't honestly see the merit behind a sushi-eating competition, but then not every challenge needed to be related to training. Although maybe competing to see who could eat the most was good for any food-related missions?

But those missions would go to the Akimichi. They could beat almost anyone when it came to eating.

Sighing, Kakashi pushed himself to his feet, rolling his shoulders as he stepped back out on the water. He only had a few days before he would be sent back out on ANBU missions, so he should do a thorough rundown of his jutsu and see which ones he could use easily.

Raikiri was up on that list, although Kakashi would prefer not to electrocute himself. Just because he had a lightning affinity didn't mean that backlash from an electricity jutsu stopped hurting. And since he was wet and standing on water…

Yeah, he'd go for some other jutsu instead.

Or maybe he should just stick with taijutsu because the others weren't leaving…

* * *

 _For once it was peaceful. Granted, it was the type of peace that gnawed at his nerves and had him twitching, but he was experienced enough to tune out the superfluous and focus on the important._

 _But it was peaceful now, the caves they had sequestered themselves in safe enough with the barriers put up and shinobi on watch._

 _"How long are we going to stay here?" Sakura asked him, voice quiet._

 _"Until we heal as much as possible," he answered, not looking up from the maps they had laid out on the ground._

 _"That will take a while." Sakura sounded weary, exhausted. She was their only field-capable medic after Tsunade had died._

 _"Any little bit helps," he said. He didn't reach out to comfort her, but he looked up, offering her a smile, visible eye closing._

 _"Any little bit, huh," Naruto's voice said, and the other sat down beside him, clothes rustling with the movement. "Doesn't seem like it."_

 _He didn't speak for a moment, evaluating Naruto's somber mood and how best to shake him out of it. "Ahh…doesn't sound much like you, Naruto."_

 _Naruto's smile was bitter. "What good's hope if it keeps getting beaten down? I'm tired, sensei." The words left him on an exhale, quiet enough that only he could hear them. Sakura was gone._

 _He hesitated briefly, then reached out to rest a hand on Naruto's shoulder, squeezing gently. "If there's no hope, then we can't move forward."_

 _"Can we?" Naruto's eyes flicked to him. "Move forward? What's there for us if we succeed?"_

 _"The future," he said. "Maybe our generations won't see it, but future ones will. If we let Madara's will come to pass, then there will be nothing."_

 _"More like Zetsu," Obito said, sitting where Naruto had been a split-second before. His head turned so his right eye was visible, Sharingan active. "We know who's been pulling the strings all this time."_

 _He blinked slowly. "Yes. But does that change anything?"_

 _"I don't know." Obito turned fully to face him, mouth twisted unhappily. His hair was stark white, having remained so even after the extraction of the Juubi. "Doesn't it? What can we do against something that despises humans with every fathom of its being? Against something that's planned for this for millennia? You don't know, do you, Kakashi? Even now."_

 _"Obito—"_

 _"Back in the past," Obito continued ruthlessly, eye narrowing, "but what can you do? Against **that**?" He thrust a hand out in the direction of the cave's opening._

 _Unbidden, his gaze followed. A numbness seemed to settle over him when he saw nothing but an overwhelming purple beginning to fill the sky. A very familiar shade of purple._

 _"That didn't happen," he said dully._

 _"I don't think that matters, does it?" Obito closed his eye, shoulders slumping. "It probably will this time. You fuck everything up, don't you?"_

 _He had never been at ground zero of the Juubi's bijuudama before, but he thought it would feel something very much like this._

Kakashi startled awake with a sharp inhale, blinking up at his ceiling. His left eye burned, but the Mangekyou dissipated more easily this time. It should worry him that he was getting used to waking up with an activated Mangekyou, but he didn't have the energy to do so. Forcing his muscles to relax, he sank back into his mattress, letting the dream/nightmare fade into the vestiges of his mind.

Or trying to let it fade.

 _"You fuck everything up, don't you?"_

Hissing, Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose. He was _trying_ , wasn't he? Even if he might not succeed…

And he had Naruto here as well. He wasn't doing this alone. Because if he was doing this alone…

Yeah, it'd be messed up. Everything he touched usually fell to pieces in one way or another.

There was a small tap at the window, like someone knocking.

Startled, Kakashi pulled his mask up and turned, grasping a kunai just in case. But the view behind the curtains only showed Naruto.

Kakashi opened the window, letting Naruto climb through before shutting it. "We're not training anymore tonight."

Naruto ducked his head, nudging his shoes off and shuffling them under Kakashi's bed. "I know."

"Was there something else you forgot to tell me?"

"No," Naruto murmured, shoulders hunching. "Um…"

Kakashi leaned an elbow on his knee, propping his head up with his hand as he waited patiently. His head felt muzzy, thoughts moving like mud. It had been part of the reason he'd called it quits early tonight after Naruto had told him about Kurama and Sasuke.

He'd be no good on ANBU missions if he was dropping from exhaustion.

"Can I…stay here tonight?" Naruto whispered, looking up with pleading eyes. He looked just as exhausted as Kakashi did, even though he had been bouncing around mere hours ago.

Damn it, why hadn't Kakashi noticed? He was failing utterly at watching out for Naruto, and it hadn't even been a week yet.

There were reasons Kakashi should say no, should bring Naruto back to his apartment before the ANBU realized he was gone. But those reasons seemed inconsequential in the face of Naruto's desperate exhaustion, in the silent plea embedded in every inch of his small body.

And…Kakashi was tired of sleeping alone. Without someone else there to watch his back in case something happened.

Reaching over to his alarm clock, Kakashi reset it so that he could wake up in time to make sure Naruto was back in his apartment. "Sure."

Kakashi's bed was small, but Naruto wasn't exactly an adult either. Especially when he curled up in a ball into Kakashi's side, face hidden in Kakashi's shirt like a small child.

Which…Naruto was right now. Even if he was mentally an adult.

Even so, Naruto was Kakashi's responsibility. He should have noticed that Naruto was tired. Cancelling training again tonight wouldn't have been a great hardship, even if Kakashi had missed being able to talk to Naruto.

Sighing, Kakashi closed his open eye, letting his own exhaustion drag him under.

His room didn't feel so empty anymore.

* * *

Kakashi wasn't _technically_ supposed to be meeting his team since he was off duty, but what Sarutobi didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Besides, his team all respected him too much to go tattling. Not that ANBU did that.

The first to show up was Tenzou. Seeing him was like a punch to the stomach, a reminder of how badly Kakashi had _failed_ him.

Tenzou had disappeared into Kabuto's clutches, and they had never figured out where he was. Only he had to have been dead, because being alive through that hell would have been worse.

Kakashi's chest squeezed tight, and for several moments breathing was painful. He was glad for his mask, which covered whatever expression his face must be making. It was easier to keep it out of his body language, so Tenzou didn't notice a thing.

"Taichou." Tenzou came to a stop beside Kakashi. "I thought you were off duty?"

"Hm." Kakashi forced himself to take a deep breath, relaxing his chest. He was able to speak now, keeping his tone light. "Is training with my team a crime now?"

Tenzou's body language didn't shift much, but there was definitely curiosity there. "You called us out for training?"

Kakashi leaned back against the training post behind him, folding his arms over his chest as he waited for the other members of his team to come. He wasn't a natural sensor, and he hadn't been with this team in a long time, but he was able to feel their chakra if he stretched his senses. They weren't too far off.

"Stealth training is always a good thing, wouldn't you think?" Kakashi said after a moment. He almost let a teasing note slip into his tone, but that wasn't his personality at this point.

Had he mentioned undercover work was exhausting? Especially undercover work as an earlier version of himself?

"Ah…stealth training?" Tenzou said with trepidation.

Kakashi hummed in acknowledgement, waiting until his other team members arrived before saying, "I've been informed that our current standards of stealth are lacking. With that in mind, we'll be doing stealth training."

"Stealth training, taichou?" one of his minions – ah, teammates – asked, sounding dubious.

"Yes." Kakashi resisted the urge to chirp the word. It would freak his team out, but it would also be too out of character. He was looking forward to the day that he could cheerfully chirp and be intimidating without worrying anyone. He supposed Naruto would have to be his only victim for now. "Your enemy is me. I'll give you a ten second head start. Starting now."

To their credit, his team vanished immediately, scattering to the trees.

Kakashi counted down slowly from ten before taking off, tracking down the first of his team. He tamped down his own chakra, blending in seamlessly with the surroundings.

It took a minute to track down his first teammate – the mask indicating him as Mouse. Kakashi waited for a few moments to see if Mouse could pick up his presence, but there was no indication that Mouse noticed he was there.

Sighing in disappointment, Kakashi deliberately broke a twig, letting his hand fall down on Mouse's shoulder a second later. The surprised twitch was gratifying.

"One down, hm?" Kakashi whisked Mouse back to the clearing, leaving him by the training post.

The other two were found just as easily, neither of them noticing Kakashi either.

Tenzou on the other hand…

With his Mokuton, Tenzou was practically impossible to find without using some kind of enhanced sensory skill. Kakashi didn't possess any such skill, but he had experience on his side. And years of avoiding Zetsu.

When it came down to it, Tenzou's skills weren't that different from Zetsu's. It was something they hadn't been able to explore, and Kakashi had his suspicions that he hadn't ever voiced. It would have made things too tangible.

Crouching on the tree branch, Kakashi glanced askance at the trunk, senses stretched to the max to make out the tinge of not quite natural chakra that was embedded in the bark. He moved to the side, channeling just the slightest bit of lightning to his fingers as he touched the trunk.

With a yelp, Tenzou materialized, nearly falling off the tree entirely before Kakashi snagged his arm, slipping into a smooth shunshin and dropped them back to the clearing.

"Solid effort," Kakashi said after a moment, "but none of you pass. Cat came the closest, but you're relying on the Mokuton."

"We're supposed to use all tools in our box," Tenzou protested.

"How's your stealth without it?" Kakashi let the question hang for a few seconds. Then, "I'll give you all another chance. Ten second head start."

He didn't have to say anything else before they all vamoosed.

It took a little longer for Kakashi to find everyone this time, largely due to the fact that they'd spread out wider this time.

Tenzou had taken Kakashi's advice to heart, although his normal stealth tactics left something to be desired. As a result, Kakashi went after him first.

"You want to blend in with your surroundings," Kakashi said once they were all back in the clearing. "If you're hiding in a tree, be the tree. Sometimes literally." His open eye flicked to Tenzou. "If in water, be water. Earth, be earth. Etcetera, etcetera."

"Are you suggesting we suppress our chakra entirely?" Mouse asked.

"Hm, no. It has its advantages, but not in a fight. As I said, blend in. Everyone has a different way of doing it." Naruto could use natural energy to blend in. Kakashi used a mixture of old-fashioned stealth and chakra to do the trick; the exact combination varied from shinobi to shinobi. "Since I'm being nice, I'll give you all a minute to figure something out. And then a ten second head start." It was probably mean, but they were ANBU. He wasn't going to treat them like green genin.

This time his team did a better job of hiding. Kakashi said as much afterwards.

"Now you find me. Tracking goes hand-in-hand with stealth, as you may have noticed. I'll go easy on you."

"Taichou," Tenzou complained, clearly put out.

Kakashi waved him off. "None of you noticed me coming up behind you. As I said, I'll go easy. For now."

If Kakashi had his proper chakra control back, he would have popped a kage bunshin, revealing he was already gone. Unfortunately, he had to go for the less intimidating route of vanishing in a shunshin, already erasing only _most_ traces of his presence.

He wasn't that mean.

* * *

"Senpai," Tenzou said hours later, "you're awful."

"Clearly not awful enough if you're complaining," Kakashi said dryly, browsing through the books available in the bookstore. He couldn't deal with not having his reading material anymore. Maybe he wouldn't go for _Icha Icha_ straight off the bat, but something else wouldn't be so bad…

Corny romance?

Kakashi inspected the cover, which depicted a woman swooning into the arms of a muscular man. It looked like it would be hilarious and sweet at the same time.

"Our stealth is up to par," Tenzou said, eyeing the book dubiously.

"It could be better," Kakashi said, taking another book off the shelves. This one's cover had the backdrop of a ship at sea. The swooning maiden and muscular man were still on it. He would be disappointed if there was no swooning in it.

Glancing up at Tenzou, Kakashi pointed out, "You rely too much on your unique skill set."

Tenzou frowned, arms folded over his chest. "We use all tools at our disposal," he countered.

"And if the tool is broken? Or nullified?" Kakashi had to drop his gaze, pulling in a pained breath. He forcefully relaxed his grip before he crumpled the books. "I'm just saying…branching out wouldn't hurt."

Tenzou narrowed his eyes. "Compared to rooting down?"

"Exactly," Kakashi answered cheerily, not at all ashamed at his accidental pun. "It's fir the best," he added.

"Don't," Tenzou muttered, aggravated. A moment later, he sighed. "I can see the point," he admitted. "I've let my other skills grow rusty."

"Don't you mean mossy?" Kakashi suggested.

Tenzou dropped his head with a faint whine.

Taking his books to the counter, Kakashi paid. They doubtlessly wouldn't be as good as _Icha Icha_ , but he needed to start somewhere.

"I wouldn't have picked you as someone interested in those types of books, Kakashi-senpai," Tenzou said.

"Everyone needs a laugh," Kakashi said, accepting the bag the clerk handed him. "I've been advised I should expand my horizons." Gai had definitely hinted as much whenever he stole Kakashi's shinobi-focused books before. Kakashi hadn't found them again, although he hadn't made an effort either.

"Wouldn't the comedy section be a better idea, then?"

Those books were embarrassing. Kakashi couldn't get through ten pages without chucking it out the window. He'd hit someone on the head one time. Kotetsu hadn't stopped staring suspiciously at him for weeks afterwards.

"These are better," Kakashi said instead.

There was, Kakashi reflected, absolutely no reason for Tenzou's deadpan expression. No reason at all.

* * *

"You look like you had fun today," Naruto told him, hopping up on the nearest training post and crouching.

"Do I?"

"Yup. Who'd you torture, sensei?"

"I didn't torture anyone," Kakashi said lightly. "It was training."

"Oh man." Naruto's grin was wicked. "I bet they loved that."

"They'll learn." Kakashi would make sure of that. Even if they ended up cursing his name by the end.

"Right on." Naruto sat down on the training post, legs spread wide to make room for his hands. He leaned forward. "Got any specific plans for tonight? How are you feeling?"

Kakashi waved a hand dismissively. "I'm fine. I'll be checking in with the Sandaime tomorrow—"

"You're taking on a mission?" Naruto's eyes were wide. " _Now_?"

"It probably won't be anything much," Kakashi said, glancing at Naruto. "But I need to start taking them again."

"What if something goes wrong?" Naruto was leaning so far forward it was a miracle he hadn't fallen off. "What if you get hurt? I can't help!"

" _Naruto_."

Naruto ignored him. "I can't do any of my seals! What if you run out of chakra—"

"Should I be insulted?" Kakashi asked the empty space before him. "I feel like I should be insulted. My own student is doubting my abilities…" He affected a woebegone expression. "Here I am, a jounin of Konohagakure—"

"I thought you said you were ANBU?"

"—and I'm being doubted by a little boy who never made it past genin," Kakashi continued, ignoring Naruto's interruption and indignant "Hey!" "It's like I have no idea how to work on my own or any ability to strategize… Maybe I should just turn in my hitai-ate since I'm clearly inept without outside help…"

A rock bounced off Kakashi's head, lacking any offensive power beyond getting his attention.

Naruto looked sheepishly offended when Kakashi gave him his attention, scratching the back of his head. "All right, Kakashi. I get it. It's just…we've been together the last so many months – years. I haven't forgotten you're a scary badass, all right? But…our chakra control is still shot to hell, and I hate sitting out on the sidelines."

"Really?" Kakashi's tone was bone dry. "I never would have guessed."

Naruto's face heated. "Shut up! I hate it, but that doesn't mean I won't do it! You're right; I doubted you and I shouldn't have. You're better than me."

Kakashi let the statement hang for a moment before saying, "For now." He'd gotten his point across; he didn't need Naruto holding his hand, and it was ridiculous that Naruto even thought that.

"Uh-huh." Naruto narrowed his eyes at him. "Sure." He folded his arms, leaning back until he was sitting entirely upright. "So, you're going to see the old man tomorrow. Even though it hasn't been a week yet? He isn't gonna kick you out on your ass for another week? And what did you even _do_ in the first place?"

Kakashi ignored the last question. "He's expecting it. Technically…it has been a week. Any longer and it would raise suspicion. In any case, it'll probably just be some routine missions."

"What if they're not?"

"It won't be an issue." Kakashi flipped through a series of hand seals, focusing his chakra in his right hand until it formed a familiar chirping mass of electricity. He let it fade a few seconds later before going through the same series of seals and focusing the chakra more intently, this time coming up with a more condensed ball of electricity that simply crackled.

"It's really not fair how quickly you get the hang of things," Naruto grumbled. "I'm still struggling with water walking."

"You might be able to manage the kage bunshin jutsu now," Kakashi said, letting his Raikiri go. He couldn't do his signature jutsu sans hand seals – not at the moment – but at least he could _do_ them. "You couldn't even do tree walking when you learned it initially."

Naruto tilted his head, nodded, and then formed the hand sign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A puff of smoke later, and two Narutos were grinning at Kakashi. "All right!"

The Naruto on the training post turned to the second. "You go walk on water."

The bunshin saluted. "You got it, boss!"

Naruto watched the bunshin run off, a considering expression on his face. "I'm not going to try the advanced version just yet, but the regular one should do for now." He turned back to Kakashi, grinning foxily. "I'm gonna catch up to you, just wait and see!"

"I've no doubt," Kakashi said sincerely, smiling. He pulled a kunai out, gingerly cutting his thumb.

"Oh!" Naruto jumped off the post, crouching by Kakashi. "Are you going to try summoning?"

Kakashi didn't answer, flipping through the hand seals and focusing his chakra. He hadn't summoned any of his ninken since coming back for a myriad of reasons. Chakra control was just one issue. The other was that he didn't really want to look at his pack and know that years of history and bonding were gone.

And his ninken were definitely more astute than most of the shinobi he spent time with.

Slamming his hand to the ground, Kakashi retracted it as the ensuing smoke cloud erupted from the black seals. Once it cleared, Pakkun was standing there, alert and ready to go.

"What is it, boss?" Pakkun demanded. "What d'you need?"

Kakashi blinked, not having expected such an aggressive reaction from Pakkun at this point. "Uh, nothing?"

"Nothing?" Pakkun stared at him in disbelief. "You don't just call me out for nothing! What happened to things being too dangerous for regular outings?"

His breath stuttered in his chest, and Kakashi couldn't help but _hope_. "P-Pakkun?"

"Yeah, it's me." Pakkun narrowed his eyes. "What? Are you sick or something? It's not like you to – oh shit, is that the kid? Did he shrink? Is that why you need me?"

"I didn't shrink!" Naruto protested. "I'm gonna grow taller!"

"Technically speaking," Kakashi said, "you did shrink. From a certain point of view."

Naruto elbowed his leg. "We're not getting into that! I have to go through _puberty_ again!" He said this with all the horror it deserved.

Kakashi wondered just when Naruto had figured this little bit out. Kakashi himself had realized that he still had another inch to grow before he'd reach his final height. Thankfully it hadn't affected his taijutsu since an inch wasn't that much.

"Oh shit," Pakkun repeated, eyes on Kakashi now. "You shrunk, too! And you're younger! Does that – it actually worked?"

"Yeah." Kakashi sat, crossing his legs and leaning his elbows on his knees. "About seventeen years in the past. I…I don't know how you're here, too."

The jutsu had been keyed into Kakashi and Naruto. They didn't have the chakra to bring back anyone else, even though it would have been helpful.

Naruto perked up. "D'you think this means I can summon the toads, too?"

Kakashi hesitated before answering. "I'm not sure. I don't even know how Pakkun is here. It might be a fluke."

"I'll cancel it," Pakkun said, "and you summon me again."

Pakkun waited for Kakashi's nod of acknowledgement before he was gone in a puff of smoke.

Two seconds later, Kakashi summoned him again, heart in his throat.

"It's still me," Pakkun said, baring his teeth in the equivalent of a grin. "Not a fluke, then."

Kakashi dipped his chin as he considered how it was possible. Summoning animals lived in the world, even if their locations were secret and difficult to get to. It wasn't like they lived _outside_ of time. The kuchiyose jutsu was just a space-time… Space- _time_.

"It's a space-time jutsu," Kakashi said slowly, swallowing. "I suppose it's a little more tied into the 'time' aspect than most people knew."

"Wait, so that means—" Naruto turned, bit his thumb, and ran through the sequence of seals for the jutsu. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

The smoke cloud that erupted was a great deal larger than Kakashi's usual, so he expected to see a large toad come out of it.

But when it disappeared, there was absolutely nothing there.

"I suppose it didn't work for you?" Kakashi tried, patting Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto slumped. "I – _agh_!" He slapped a hand to his forehead, gawking at something on the ground. "A _tadpole_?"

Blinking, Kakashi looked closer at the ground, making out what Naruto had. There was a small, wiggling tadpole hidden in the grass.

Okay… Kakashi deliberately looked away, trying his best not to break down laughing. Naruto didn't need that.

"A freaking _tadpole_? Agh!" Naruto threw up his hands, knocking Kakashi's hand off his shoulder. "I haven't summoned a tadpole in _years_!" Scowling, he slammed his hand on the ground, and the tadpole disappeared with a much smaller smoke cloud.

"So you did summon tadpoles at one point?" Kakashi couldn't resist asking.

"Yeah, when ero-sennin first had me sign the contract. It was all I could summon until he chucked me off a cliff and I had to use Kurama's chakra." Naruto sighed heavily, dropping his head to a hand, whining under his breath. "I'm back to square one. _Tadpoles_."

Unable to resist a snort, Kakashi turned back to Pakkun, who looked to be doing his best not to smirk. "What's happening there? I would have thought that since we went back, the timeline would have been erased."

"I dunno about that," Pakkun answered. "But then you shouldn't ask me about physics. I'm a ninken, not a scientist. As far as I can tell, it's still moving along. No idea what's happening with your group, though. None of them can summon us."

So what did that mean? Had he and Naruto gone back in time for nothing? Or were they writing an entirely new timeline altogether? While the old one continued on without them?

Shit, what did that mean for the remnants of the Alliance? They'd hinged everything on this. They hadn't expected that it wouldn't _help_ them.

Kakashi glanced over to Naruto, who was still grumbling to himself and plucking at the grass. He didn't seem to have realized the ramifications of what this meant, and Kakashi hoped he didn't. Kakashi certainly wasn't going to enlighten him.

Fuck, fuck, _fuck_. What kind of leader _was_ he? What kind of Hokage?

He didn't deserve the hat.

"Boss?" Pakkun sounded wary, like he knew what was going through Kakashi's head. He probably did.

"It's fine," Kakashi said quietly. Exhaling slowly, he changed the subject. "What do you think happens to your counterpart in this time?"

Pakkun gave the equivalent of a shrug. "You're asking me? I've no clue. Probably still around. And he'll get pissy if you stop summoning him."

"Right…" Kakashi wondered if he could somehow manage to summon his ninken pack from this time. It would take some experimenting.

"The world's still moving, you know," Pakkun said, coming closer, voice soft. "So I'm guessing your friends are still alive. They're a tough bunch."

Kakashi didn't doubt that, but they'd been on their last legs at the end. They were doubtlessly still fighting, but for how much longer?

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" About ten more Narutos popped into the clearing, all of them wearing determined expressions. "All right, let's do this!"

Some of them went for the trees, but the rest ran towards the water. The original Naruto was one of them.

Naruto was…Naruto really was something else. He just kept going, even when others would have given up.

He didn't know what Kakashi had realized – most likely didn't care because he was _going_ to move forward and save everybody. That was the type of person he was.

No…Naruto would care. But he'd take it as motivation to try even harder.

Because if their friends had sacrificed their future so that another future could be better…wouldn't it be an insult to them to let that sacrifice go to waste?

Kakashi had failed them as their leader – as their Hokage. It was the least he could do to make sure that there would be a future this time.

* * *

 **Yes... I did warn you guys about the rollercoaster, yes? It took me a little to figure out exactly how I wanted to play the summoning jutsu, settling on what you see in this chapter. The thing with time traveling is that there are a lot of options with how it can play out, so why not this one?**

 **The next chapter's split between Naruto's and Kakashi's POVs, and it's also where things start to pick up just a little. For now they've been getting their footing, but they're soon going to start pushing things.**

 **Again, I would like to reiterate that there's no romance in the picture for either Kakashi or Naruto. These are two traumatized shinobi who have been through _hell_ , and they are extremely used to living in close quarters with others or with each other. That said, physical affection doesn't have to be romantic, and that's what we have here. It's a sad thing that our society sexualizes most forms of physical affection, but I'm not doing that here.**

 **Anyway! I hope you enjoyed it! :D I'd love to hear your feedback!**


	6. Chapter 6

**So, over 50,000 words later and plot slowly starts creeping in! Which...we're not yet at that point with what I've posted? Haha... In any case, thank you all for the lovely feedback! :D I haven't had the time to respond to everyone but I appreciate and love everything you guys have sent me.**

 **There's quite a bit happening in this chapter, in the way of character interactions. And we're slowly getting a move on with other things. Which is the important thing since the entire story isn't going to revolve around Naruto being 5 and Kakashi 19. However much fun I'm having with this time period... (God, how long is this going to end up being?)**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoy! :D**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

* * *

Kakashi had already gone to the Hokage's tower. He'd done it immediately after dropping Naruto back at his apartment before the ANBU noticed that Naruto hadn't spent the night there.

It was weird, since Naruto had half-expected Kakashi to be late. But it seemed like he was actually going to be on time?

Or was it being on time if the old man wasn't expecting Kakashi?

Naruto didn't know, but he was going to hold this over Kakashi's head when – not if, _when_ – he was back on Kakashi's team and Kakashi kept turning up late with those ridiculous excuses. Because Kakashi could totally show up on time; he just couldn't be half-assed to do it most of the time.

Hm…he could see his sensei being the type to subtly troll everyone. Look underneath the underneath, huh?

And if everyone got so out of sorts due to Kakashi being late, it meant they forgot that he was a super dangerous shinobi who could kill them all without blinking.

Or something like that.

Not that Kakashi was that dangerous _now_. His jutsu kind of backfired if he tried pulling them out too quickly. Naruto hadn't been able to resist laughing when Kakashi had almost burned his eyebrows off with a misfired fire jutsu.

Of course, he'd fallen under the water immediately afterwards, so he'd had to stop laughing pretty quickly.

Sighing, Naruto stepped onto his footstool as the kettle finished boiling, turning off the heat and pouring the water into a cup. So far cooking had been going without any mishaps, although that might have been due in part to Kakashi always checking over the stove to make sure it wasn't going to explode.

Naruto was relatively sure he'd only set the kitchen on fire because he'd done something wrong with his instant ramen, but he certainly wasn't going to tell Kakashi that.

What sucked was that he couldn't take care of Kakashi. Not that Kakashi needed to be taken care of, but it was the thought that counted. They were partners, and Naruto couldn't even have his back because he was too small and his chakra control sucked.

But Kakashi was right. It was insulting for Naruto to think that Kakashi _needed_ him there all the time. Kakashi had been a jounin for a really long time. Naruto didn't even know how long, but one didn't make a name for oneself by not being really good. (Or maybe one did. It could go either way.)

Glowering into his steeping tea, Naruto told himself that it was okay to worry. He would just…do it quietly. Where he wouldn't insult Kakashi with it.

In the meantime, he could distract himself by going to see Sasuke again. He wasn't too sure what they would be doing today. If Itachi was back from his mission, Sasuke would want to spend time with his brother. He probably wouldn't want Naruto around.

Dumping two large spoonfuls of sugar into his tea and a generous amount of milk, Naruto ignored the mental voice that sounded suspiciously like Sasuke complaining about tea deserving to be enjoyed and not turned into a sugary monstrosity. Actually, there seemed to be something that sounded like Kakashi in there, too.

"Neither of you are here so shut it," Naruto grumbled, taking a sip of his perfect tea and enjoying it. Mutinously.

Ugh, he was talking to himself now. Wasn't that the first sign of insanity?

No, stop it. Naruto wasn't insane. He had Kurama in his head. So he wasn't really talking to himself.

Even if Kurama was currently still sleeping his chakra exhaustion off and not listening to anything Naruto had to say.

"Does everyone have something to do but me?" Naruto asked his tea, scratching his nail against the rim of the cup. "I feel useless. I hate feeling useless. It _sucks_." And he was back to frigging _tadpoles_ again.

He'd made friends with Sasuke, but the excitement of that had worn off. Mostly. It was nice not being alone anymore. Although it was always possible that the Uchiha would catch wind of Sasuke spending time with "that boy" and magically appear to haul him off.

Naruto wasn't sure what he would do in that case. Probably find a corner and cry. And then go and beat something up.

He could also go and find Sakura. It would be nice to have both his friends back.

But…he didn't know what Sakura did around this time. He had no idea where she lived, although he knew she was a civilian. And that in itself was a big issue, since civilian parents _hated_ him. They made up most of the hatred he had to face in the village.

Yeah, the shinobi weren't all too good either, but the clan families were typically neutral. They understood sealing more than the average shinobi or any civilian did, so they knew that Naruto wasn't the Kyuubi.

But Sakura's parents were as civilian as one could be so far as Naruto knew. They wouldn't let him make friends with their daughter, let alone let him _near_ her.

So…Sakura wasn't exactly an option at this point. Not until she entered the Academy.

Which was what Naruto had known from the start. It just sucked that he had to keep reminding himself that this wasn't the same Konoha from _before_. He was starting from square one again.

Dropping his chin to the table, Naruto considered making himself something to eat. He was pretty sure he had…instant ramen. Maybe some bread? Shopping hadn't been easy given how much difficulty he had getting anything from the stores.

Oh well. Instant ramen it was. Naruto was going to enjoy the fact that he could eat it now.

If Kakashi had any issues, he could drop by with a basket of vegetables and fruits. Naruto was sure he could manage it without looking suspicious.

Naruto had just finished his second cup of delicious instant ramen when there was a knock on his door. Pausing, Naruto stretched his senses out, finding some difficulty in placing the chakra that was outside his door. It took another few moments for him to remember how the old man's chakra felt.

Okay, _that_ was unexpected.

Tossing the trash where it belonged, Naruto went to the door and opened it, making sure to affect a suspicious expression that changed to surprise when he saw the old man.

"Old man!" Naruto exclaimed, not having to fake the excitement he felt. "Did you come here to see me?"

Almost as quickly as it came, the excitement changed to a crushing pressure in his chest, one that Naruto was all too keenly familiar with. It strangled him for a petrifying eternity, but then Naruto forced in a large breath through his nose. Somehow he managed to keep the grin on his face.

"Ah, Naruto." The old man's smile was warm, eyes crinkling with fondness. "I wanted to check and see how you're doing."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto reached forwards, grabbing hold of his white robes and pulling him in. "The place is awesome, old man! You should come and see!"

Naruto led the old man through a whirlwind tour of his apartment, finishing in the kitchen. He was rather glad that his usually messy tendencies hadn't yet had a chance to come out. Of course, he'd gotten far too used to hiding all traces of his presence, and such a habit wasn't easily broken.

"D'you want some tea?" Naruto asked, eyes flicking over to his tea kettle. The water should still be hot. "That's what I should do, right?" he added. "To be a good host?"

The old man chuckled, ruffling a hand through Naruto's hair. "Tea would be splendid, Naruto."

Bustling around the kitchen, Naruto considered what the old man would want with him. He was probably overthinking things. The old man had visited him frequently as a kid. This was most likely just one of those visits. Naruto couldn't even remember what it had been about the first time; after a while they all just ran together.

Chewing his lower lip, Naruto glanced back at the old man, who had pulled out his pipe and lit it. He seemed to be simply enjoying a good smoke, but Naruto could tell that he was carefully looking around the apartment.

Looking for what, Naruto wasn't sure. There wasn't anything incriminating here. Kakashi was too good to leave evidence behind, and Naruto was just as good.

"Here's your tea, old man!" Naruto set the steaming cup down, along with some sugar and milk. "I hope you like it!"

"Ah, thank you, Naruto." The old man beamed at Naruto, laugh lines crinkling with the expression. It was so familiar that Naruto felt his eyes prickling, and he had to widen his grin to focus on not crying.

Damn it, he was _not_ going to spill the beans. Not like this.

The old man had taken a slow sip from his tea before he spoke again, eyes on Naruto. "How are you doing, Naruto? Living on your own can be an adjustment."

"It's great!" Naruto proclaimed, bouncing up in his seat. "I really like it. It's a lot better than the orphanage." His grin flickered at the memories, faded as they were. "It's nice," he said more softly, smiling now.

"I'm glad to hear that," the old man said. "How is everything else?"

"Also great!" Naruto considered whether it was too early to do this, but then just decided to go for it. "And y'know what, old man? I really want to be a shinobi!"

The old man's eyebrows rose. "Oh?"

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded vigorously, channeling every single bit of excitement that he could remember feeling as a kid. "It'd be really cool, right? And I could be like you and the other guys around the village! And the guys on the mountain!"

The old man laughed, setting his tea down. "Is that so, Naruto? Do you know who those men are?"

Naruto nodded again. "The Hokages! Everyone knows that! They're the best shinobi in the village! So…" He tilted his head, eyeing the old man. "That means _you're_ the strongest, right?"

There was a gentle smile. "The Hokage is strong, yes."

Naruto sank back in his seat, returning the smile. "I want to be like that," he repeated, entirely honestly. "I want to be like you, old man. I want to be a shinobi."

"Just to be strong?" the old man asked.

Naruto glanced out the window, keenly remembering his original reasons to want to be a shinobi. They had changed since then, but that didn't mean he'd forgotten. But his reasons now weren't the type to be voiced by a child.

How could he say that he wanted to protect his precious people? That he wanted the strength to protect those he loved? That he wanted to be the shield for those who would come after him? That he wanted to end the cycle of hatred that troubled the shinobi and started war after war?

There was no way he could. Not right now.

"I want to be seen," Naruto said eventually, meeting the old man's eyes. "I want them to _see_ me. They see you. So if I become a shinobi, they'll have to notice me."

There was an aching sadness in the old man's eyes, one that Naruto had seen before but not actually recognized for what it was. "I see." Slowly standing, the old man came round to Naruto's side, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I will make the necessary arrangements."

Oh, wait, when would that put Naruto in the Academy? He didn't want to go in there without Sasuke. That might ruin everything.

"Yeah?" Naruto looked up at him. "So I'll be a shinobi?"

"It will be a great deal of hard work, Naruto," the old man cautioned.

"Everything's work," Naruto responded unthinkingly. A moment later he added, more carefully, "I know, old man."

"Yes." The old man studied him closely, eyes shrewd. "In any case, it will be some time before the next year of the Academy begins. I could put you into this year, but you would be behind—"

"Next year's fine," Naruto hurried to say. "That way I can do all kinds of training and be ahead of the others, ya know!" He shot the old man a thumbs up, accompanying it with a beaming grin.

The earlier seriousness vanished, and the old man laughed fondly, reaching up to rest a hand on Naruto's head. "Very well, Naruto." His smile was kind, if slightly sad. "I look forward to seeing what you can do."

Naruto held his gaze, nodding seriously. He was going to be the best shinobi ever. And this time, the old man would live to see it.

* * *

Kakashi was on his ANBU team. _Kakashi_ was on his _ANBU_ team.

Naruto had a great deal of trouble hiding his happy grin when he noticed Kakashi's chakra. He managed eventually, but he couldn't stop occasionally glancing over in Kakashi's direction. It was disguised as him looking for something else, and he couldn't actually see Kakashi, but it was nice.

So it really was "routine." Naruto wasn't sure what Kakashi had done to be kicked off missions for a week, but he sure wasn't complaining about Kakashi getting an easy one now that he was back on duty.

It was nice that Kakashi was even letting Naruto know he was there. He was fully capable of going completely incognito so only sage mode would let Naruto snuff him out.

On that note…Naruto needed to let Sasuke know the happy news that he would be joining the Academy.

Taking off in a run, Naruto sidestepped civilians and other shinobi, picking up his speed once he was out of the streets and closer to the Uchiha district. The compound was on the outskirts of the village, even more so than other clan compounds. That said, they did have neat training grounds.

When Naruto arrived at the usual meeting place, he was pleased to see Itachi and Sasuke there. Sasuke gave Naruto a small smile once he saw him.

"Hey!" Naruto skidded to a halt before Itachi, regulating his breathing after several breaths. "Itachi! How was your mission? Was it cool?"

"It went well," Itachi answered, not missing a beat. He gave Naruto a small smile as well, one that looked eerily similar to Sasuke's. Or, well, Sasuke's looked similar.

"It must have!" Naruto linked his hands behind his head, rocking back on his heels. "Since you're back here and all!"

"Big brother's a chuunin," Sasuke added. "Of _course_ he's going to be fine."

Itachi blinked slowly but otherwise didn't react. "I see you two have been spending time together," he said eventually.

"Yeah!" Naruto shared a look with Sasuke. "Sasuke's been teaching me how to throw shuriken and kunai! And I've been getting really good at it!"

Sasuke nodded in agreement. "He has."

"And, um…" Naruto drew his shoulders in slightly, hands still behind his head. "D'you think you could do that move again? The one I saw the first time?"

Sasuke's eyes brightened. "Oh, can you, big brother?"

Itachi's eyes softened when he looked at Sasuke, chin dipping in a nod. "Why don't you and Naruto move out of the way?"

Gesturing to Naruto, Sasuke pointed to the trees. "I usually watch from there."

It was a good vantage point, Naruto thought. Just out of the way that Itachi didn't have to worry too much about hitting them, but also giving them a good look at what would take place. Sasuke must have done this a lot.

Once they were out of the way, Itachi stood at a certain point in the clearing. Frankly, Naruto couldn't see what made that spot particularly different, but then he wasn't the expert at throwing kunai. He was decent, but he wasn't _that_ good.

Itachi's arms blurred as he unleashed the first round of kunai. A second later he was airborne, flipping and spiraling as more kunai flew through the air, each one of them hitting a target. Even the targets that Itachi couldn't actually see.

Scant seconds later, Itachi was back on the ground and every single target in the clearing had a kunai in the center.

Naruto blinked, stunned at the display of marksmanship. Holy _shit_.

Even Sasuke hadn't been that good, had he?

Okay, wait. There was no way Itachi could pull off those types of moves in the middle of a battle. He was good, but he couldn't be _that_ good. And he'd done this type of thing multiple times before.

It was possibly just showmanship. Possibly. Hell, Naruto hoped it was.

Because if not, Itachi was downright terrifying, and he was only _ten_.

"That was awesome," Naruto said a moment later, breathlessly. He didn't voice any of his thoughts, though he was going to as soon as he could talk to Kakashi.

He'd known Itachi was an amazing shinobi, but _wow_.

"Right?" Sasuke agreed, sounding just as awed. It was really cute.

Then Naruto blinked and told himself to never put Sasuke and "cute" in the same thought again.

"Has he taught you that?" Naruto asked.

"No." Sasuke sounded disgruntled. "I only know the basics."

"The basics are enough, little brother." Itachi came over, briefly tweaking Sasuke's nose. "You'll learn more at the Academy."

"You didn't learn _that_ at the Academy," Sasuke pointed out, nose wrinkling after Itachi let go.

"I learned it after."

"Oh!" Naruto grabbed hold of Sasuke's arm. "I wanted to tell you! The old man said I could go to the Academy! So you and I will both be joining!"

Sasuke didn't jerk his arm out of Naruto's grip, which was a nice change from _before_. "When did that happen?"

"This morning."

"You saw the Hokage this morning?"

"He wanted to check up on me," Naruto explained. "I live on my own."

Something flickered across Itachi's face, but there was no other reaction.

On the other hand, Sasuke frowned. "You live on your _own_? How old are you again?"

"I'm five," Naruto muttered, folding his arms across his chest. "And I _was_ in the orphanage…but they didn't like me there. So once I turned five the old man got me an apartment. It's nicer."

"But you live on your own?" Sasuke sounded rather confused at this.

"It's not like it's hard." Naruto dropped his gaze, scuffing the toe of his sandal against the grass. "I mean, cooking's a little difficult because I can't always reach the stove, but that's what a footstool's for, ya know? But it's a lot nicer than staying at the orphanage."

"But why?" Sasuke asked. "There would be people to help you at the orphanage…"

Naruto just shrugged, not really willing to get into how the orphanage ran things. He couldn't remember a lot anyway. It had been years for him, but some things weren't so easily forgotten. Like how cold it could be when no one cared, how lonely it was, and how the awful _glares_ were everywhere.

"They didn't like me," Naruto repeated, giving a pained smile. "I guess maybe they said something, too."

"You didn't play a prank or something, did you?"

"I don't think it mattered." Naruto drew his shoulders in.

"That's enough, Sasuke," Itachi said quietly. "Naruto doesn't owe us any explanations."

Sasuke's expression was mulish, his jaw set stubbornly, but he didn't say anything else.

Searching for a way to lighten the atmosphere, Naruto tried, "I can have people over! So if you want to come over sometime…"

This didn't seem to make Sasuke feel better. Itachi was looking off in the distance, face carefully blank in a way that suggested he was angry. Naruto recognized the expression from Kakashi. It looked a lot different when one didn't have a mask.

"You can come over, too," Sasuke said, face fiercely determined. For a moment he looked so much like his older self that Naruto's heart skipped a painful beat. Then the image was gone and it was just the present Sasuke standing there. "Cooking can be dangerous, so if you want to come over sometime and have dinner with us, you can. I'm sure Mom won't mind."

"She probably won't," Itachi said, the words measured. "But we should let her know beforehand."

"Yeah, um…" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Adults…generally don't tend to like me much. She might not want me around."

"She will," Sasuke insisted. "I'll ask her."

Clearly a five-year-old Sasuke was just as stubborn as his teenage self. Naruto didn't know why he'd expected any different. And it wasn't like he could drag Sasuke into a fight over _dinner_.

Itachi would probably protest.

"Okay," was all Naruto could say, smiling faintly. "Um…do you want to practice throwing shuriken today? Your brother's here, so he can say if I'm doing something wrong."

Sasuke let the change in subject pass, expression lightening. "Okay." He turned to Itachi. "Big brother, would you?"

Itachi's expression lightened as well. "Of course."

Blowing out a soft breath, Naruto took the shuriken Sasuke handed him. He wasn't entirely sure what had just happened today, but he had the feeling it wasn't bad.

And, hey, Kakashi was safe, too.

* * *

"You realize you can't actually use the seals, right?"

"I know, but I can still make them."

Kakashi was leaning back against the wall, sitting on his bed with his knees drawn up. Naruto had commandeered his desk and chair, sealing paper strewn over the surface and a brush in one hand.

They had cut training short on Naruto's request, not that Kakashi was exactly complaining. He'd had a quiet day of following Naruto around, but it was different when he was being an observer versus a companion.

"You were in the village today," Naruto said, not looking up, "but not all your missions are like that. What about when you're out?"

"I'm on your guard again tomorrow," Kakashi said.

Naruto paused briefly. "Oh? That's…good. I'm glad."

Kakashi wasn't sure whether to be insulted or touched at the display of concern. It was nice to know Naruto cared so much, but he was able to take care of himself.

"That's fine, then," Naruto said, sounding slightly distracted as he focused on creating the marker. His hand wasn't as steady as it had been in the future. "It gives me more time to make these."

"You can't use them," Kakashi pointed out.

"Not now," Naruto agreed, "but eventually. The markers don't disappear, especially if you put a little chakra into them. And if you're going out of the village, you can start spreading them around. It'll make traveling easier." He blew on the paper and set it aside.

"I'll keep a stack on hand," Kakashi said, since it was a good idea. It wouldn't pay off for some years because the Hiraishin required very good chakra control, but it was good preparation.

"Keep one on you, too," Naruto said. "Just in case. I can't mark you right now."

Naruto wouldn't be able to help him even if Kakashi kept a seal on him at all times, but this was an argument Kakashi wasn't willing to get into. "All right."

They fell into a comfortable silence as Naruto continued creating the Hiraishin markers, becoming faster with each successive one. Kakashi was on the verge of nodding off when Naruto broke it, voice subdued.

"You saw Itachi today, right?"

"Hm?" Kakashi blinked slowly, cataloging what Naruto could mean. "I did."

"He's really something, isn't he?"

Was it going to be one of those conversations?

Sighing, Kakashi stretched his right leg out. "Uchiha Itachi," he started carefully, "is an excellent shinobi. He's extraordinarily gifted even without factoring his Mangekyou Sharingan. So, yes, he really is 'something.' That said, his display earlier today was mostly for show."

Setting a finished marker to the side, Naruto waved the brush around, splattering ink. "I knew it!"

Kakashi decided to ignore the ink. It could be cleaned up. "That's not to say it's impossible in battle situations with planning and foresight. And it trains reflexes, situational awareness, and aim. But the trick he did today is primarily a trick performed through muscle memory."

"Battle situations would have constantly moving targets," Naruto noted, nodding. "The ones he used were stationary, and he uses them all the time. So by now…he could probably do it with his eyes closed."

"Probably," Kakashi agreed. "It doesn't make it any less impressive."

"I know," Naruto said. "He figured out the weakness to Nagato's strongest attack on the fly and defeated it. Not to mention all the other stuff he can do."

Most of that stuff hadn't come yet, but Itachi was still a rather intimidating shinobi. And hopefully one that wouldn't go rogue again.

"Hey, sensei…" Naruto twisted around until he was looking at Kakashi. "When are we going to help the Uchiha?"

"Neither of us is in any shape to do anything about it right now," Kakashi answered. "In any case, even if we were, we couldn't do anything about it immediately."

"What?" Naruto frowned. "Why not?"

"I need to get more intel," Kakashi said. "This is the type of mission that takes time and a great deal of patience. We're in no hurry right now, Naruto."

"Intel?" Naruto's frown deepened. "So you have proof or something?"

"So I know exactly where to hit and how to do so," Kakashi said bluntly.

"Wait." Naruto turned around fully, knees on the seat of the chair. "Are you going to kill him? I thought we were going to go to the old man!"

Kakashi shook his head. "That wouldn't solve our problem. It would very likely make us a target."

"But there has to be another way," Naruto protested. "Why do we have to kill him?"

"Naruto…" Kakashi leaned forward, crossing his legs as he rested his elbows on his knees. "I understand that you want to give him another chance. If this were anyone else, I would try that option. But as it is, I can't chance it. There's too much at stake if we let this go."

Naruto's eyes were pained. "I…I understand. But…why _can't_ we take this to the old man?"

"If I trusted that Sarutobi would do the right thing, we could," Kakashi said wearily. "But he let Orochimaru go because Orochimaru was his student. Danzou is an old friend, and Sarutobi trusts him."

"Would he trust him if he knew what his friend was doing?" Naruto argued.

"He found out about Orochimaru." Kakashi dropped his eyes to the floor. "The Sandaime knows, Naruto," he continued quietly. "Maybe not everything, but he knows enough about who Danzou is and what he's capable of. And it's enough that I don't feel it's the right choice to take it to him, even with proof in our hands."

"You—" Naruto broke off, biting his lip. After a moment, he started again, voice subdued, "You're awfully cynical, Kakashi."

Kakashi shrugged. "I'd call it realistic."

Naruto frowned briefly. "Okay, then…your plan is…to walk into his house and kill him?"

"A lot of assassination missions boil down to that," Kakashi said after a short pause.

"So when do you think you can do it?"

"That depends entirely on how quickly I get my control back to where it needs to be. Along with gathering the intel I need so that I don't mess up." Kakashi paused, tilting his head. "And that's going to be the part that will take the longest."

"Shouldn't that just take a few weeks? It can't be that difficult."

It was questions like that which reminded Kakashi that Naruto hadn't had the most orthodox shinobi career. It wasn't to say Naruto was a bad shinobi. He just didn't have the general knowhow the average shinobi did. His strengths lay in other areas, like magically converting the enemy to the same side or beating down the enemy until they couldn't fight anymore.

"We're essentially running a long undercover mission while needing to stay in the public eye," Kakashi said. "Ordinarily, yes, this type of intel gathering wouldn't take so long, but I can't be out of the public eye for the period of time it would take. Neither can you."

"Well…" Naruto slung his arms over the back of the chair. "I've got the kage bunshin jutsu working again…"

"No," Kakashi said flatly. "If you were with me, then maybe, but no. You don't have the training for this kind of intel gathering."

Naruto slumped over dramatically, head drooping. "I could _learn_ ," he muttered dejectedly.

"I'm sure, but let's try that on a mission that won't affect the fate of the Uchiha."

Naruto pouted, but his mood lifted slightly. He kept his head down, eyes on the floor. "You think this'll work, sensei?" he asked.

"I don't know," Kakashi admitted. "This mess with the Uchiha has been coming for a long time. This could help, or it could lead to something else that we can't predict. But either we do something or we let it happen the same way so we can control the outcome."

"No," Naruto immediately said. "We came back to change things. Not just let things happen the same way because that's _easier_. Maybe something else will happen, but we can handle it. I know we can."

The smile came easily, and Kakashi didn't make any effort to hide it. "So confident, are we?"

"It's you," Naruto said, echoing the words he'd said once before in the future, "and it's me. So, yeah, I'm confident, Kakashi."

Relaxing, Kakashi leaned back against the wall, slowly exhaling. That conversation had gone about as expected, although Naruto had acquiesced more easily than he'd thought he would.

It wasn't as if Naruto _liked_ Danzou considering what had happened with the Uchiha and Sai. Naruto was nothing but viciously protective of his friends, yet he was also unfailingly kind. He'd given Obito a second chance after everything, and Kakashi was sure Naruto would've tried with Madara if given the opportunity.

So that Naruto would try to give Danzou a second chance considering he hadn't yet ordered the Uchiha massacre… It wasn't surprising. It wouldn't do to judge a person by the actions they hadn't yet committed.

Yet Kakashi wasn't judging Danzou by what he _would_ do. Yes, he was biased enough to admit that it played a part in how he viewed the man, but that wasn't everything. No, it was everything else Danzou had done in the name of protecting Konohagakure.

It was Danzou taking young children and breaking them to the point where they couldn't recognize their own emotions and considered _having_ such emotions a flaw. It was Danzou collaborating with Orochimaru and Amegakure, lengthening the Third Shinobi War and making things so much worse than they needed to be. It was Danzou sowing the seeds for what started Akatsuki and the Fourth Shinobi War. It was Danzou thinking that his way was the only way to do things, and that peace was a weakness.

No, Kakashi wasn't judging Danzou by his future sins. There was more than enough to pick from now.

"I thought you'd argue more," Kakashi said, surprising himself with the words. It was probably because he was half-asleep that they'd even slipped out.

Naruto was back at work, his back to Kakashi. "I don't like it," he said quietly, "but I understand. I'm not a kid anymore, Kakashi. Some people…some people can't be saved without making things worse. Besides…" He turned his head just enough so Kakashi could see the small smile on his face. "I trust you, Hokage-sama."

"Don't '–sama' me," Kakashi protested. "Or do the Hokage thing."

Naruto made a noise that indicated he'd registered the protest and discarded it. It was a noise Kakashi was keenly familiar with.

Naruto's answer wasn't one Kakashi was happy with. Just _trust_? Was that even a good idea?

"What if I abuse that trust?" Clearly Kakashi was just going for the win here.

"You listened," Naruto said. "You didn't have to listen to me; you could've just done what you wanted. But you explained why you're doing this, and I understand."

There was a long pause that dragged out to minutes, and Kakashi was definitely about to drift off when Naruto spoke again, voice soft. "You've never once abused my trust, Kakashi. And I don't expect you to start now."

Kakashi could name a few incidents off the top of his head, but he had the feeling that Naruto would shoot them down and come up with some explanation that should make no sense but somehow did.

"You should sleep, sensei." There was the sensation of a blanket being thrown over him. "I'm not going anywhere tonight."

Naruto should go somewhere. He should go back to his apartment before the ANBU noticed he wasn't there.

But Kakashi was too tired to make the argument, especially since it was an argument he wasn't that invested in. It was nice not to be alone. And he was definitely too comfortable to move, even propped up against the wall.

* * *

 **Itachi is 10. Why wouldn't he show off for his little brother? :P (Naruto is simultaneously terrified and impressed.)**

 **So now you guys know what the plan is for Danzou. Or...some of the plan. It's not clear _what_ they're going to do, but it's going to be _fun_. For Kakashi and Naruto. Not Danzou. Danzou is not having fun. I said that no characters would be bashed, and this is true. Characters are also going to get a fair shaking for the most part, but Danzou... Danzou is pretty tricky because of the personal history these characters have with him. And, well, I really dislike Danzou? _Intensely dislike_.**

 **In any case, I hope you enjoyed it! :D I know it wasn't that funny and not as much of an emotional rollercoaster (I think?) as the last one, but I hope it was just as enjoyable! No promises on when Chapter 7 will be out, but after I finish Chapter 10. :P**

 **I'd love to hear your feedback! :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**This is one of those chapters where a lot happens and I keep wondering if I missed something... But I've been through it a few times and edited some stuff to make more sense timeline-wise, so... I guess I'll just leave it as is? And come back later if I have forgotten something. (I hope I haven't.) Because a _lot_ happens in here, guys. So much.**

 **Thanks so much for all the continued feedback! :D It really makes my day to get a message and see that it's a review for the story and reading what you guys think of how things are going. So thank you!**

 **As a general note, I will be leaving the country for the next few weeks, so I'm not sure what my schedule's going to be like. I probably won't be able to post anything during that time, so if the story goes without an update during that time, that's why.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

* * *

It had been a week. Kakashi wasn't on his guard anymore. Hadn't been for a few days, taking a mission that would have him out of the village.

Naruto suspected Kakashi had requested the mission because usually shinobi didn't know what kind of missions they'd get in advance. And Kakashi had known that he wouldn't be in the village when he'd told Naruto he would be off the guard.

He didn't like it, but they'd already had that argument. So Naruto had shoved his Hiraishin markers into Kakashi's bag and said nothing more.

But Naruto kind of – _really_ – wished Kakashi were here. Because he had an invite to Sasuke's house and absolutely no idea what to do for it.

It wasn't like Naruto had anyone he could ask for advice. Iruka didn't know who he was. Ero-sennin wasn't in the village. And the old man was busy and Naruto didn't feel like telling him he'd been invited over by Uchiha Sasuke.

Naruto would have complained to Kakashi and begged for advice, but Kakashi wasn't here. If Sakura were…

That wasn't an option either. Naruto didn't know what she did at this age, but her parents were civilians. They wouldn't let him within five feet of her.

And it wasn't like Sakura would even want to talk to him at this age. She hadn't once in the Academy until Naruto made himself really obnoxious and she got older.

But Sakura's knowledge sure would be helpful. She would probably know more than Kakashi. Since Kakashi was amazing but Naruto could admit that his sensei was rather bad at the smaller things in life. Like being on time. Or knowledgeable on what to do when invited to dinner with a stuffy clan.

Still, Kakashi would have a better idea than Naruto did. He was an Adult.

Should Naruto dress up? He had…shirts. And pants. And no money to get anything else.

Was he supposed to bring food? But he couldn't really cook, and he didn't fancy setting his apartment on fire and having to move. Yeah, he missed his old apartment but this one was fine, too. And missing dinner because he set his kitchen on fire would suck.

Especially since Sasuke had seemed just a bit shifty when telling Naruto yesterday that he was coming over for dinner the next day.

Naruto wasn't sure why, but maybe Sasuke had done something he wasn't supposed to? It wasn't too far out of the realm of possibility.

Although Sasuke was less inclined to go rogue now than he had been before. Which was a good thing. Naruto didn't want to go chasing after him again.

It would suck.

Eyeing his closet, Naruto changed his current shirt out for something fresher. After another moment's thought, he did the same with his pants. Then he turned and considered his apartment.

There was nothing he could bring them from here. Although Naruto didn't know if he was supposed to bring them something anyway.

Hell, even Shikamaru would be nice to talk to now. Especially since Shikamaru was actually in a clan.

Glancing at the clock, Naruto realized he had far too much time to kill. And absolutely nothing to do. It was awful.

Maybe he could walk around Konoha? And try not to shake out of his skin with nerves.

It was a sensation he was entirely unfamiliar with and hated. It wasn't like he'd ever been invited over to a friend's house before. Especially for dinner.

Nerves about a fight were different compared to these kinds of nerves. And Naruto knew which ones he preferred.

Okay, he could do this. Naruto had dealt with worse.

Even if this was entirely new ground. And Naruto didn't know how going to dinner with Sasuke's family ranked against fighting to kill against another shinobi.

Knowing his luck, the dinner thing would top the fighting.

* * *

"Oh, hey, Sasuke! How're things? Cool? Yeah, I'm awesome! Really looking forward to meeting your parents!" Naruto locked his door, pocketed the key, and then proceeded to almost slam into Sasuke when he turned too fast.

For his part, Sasuke looked only mildly concerned. "Are you _really_ okay?"

"Uh, yeah!" Naruto hoped his smile didn't look too manic. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Do you not want to come?" Sasuke asked after a small pause, looking hesitant.

"What? No!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's wrist, proceeding to drag him down the hall so they could get moving. "I'm looking forward to this! You invited me so you can't back out!"

"I'm not backing out." Now Sasuke sounded indignant.

"Good." Naruto slowed his pace once they reached the street, letting go of Sasuke's wrist to put his hands in his pockets. He deliberately slumped, trying to affect a casual posture.

It wasn't his normal casual posture, but then he didn't feel casual enough to go for it. But it wasn't like Sasuke knew him well enough at this point to call him out on it.

"Are you nervous?" Sasuke asked once they were closer to the Uchiha district.

Naruto's answering laugh was a bit too high-pitched. Which was totally selling the "not nervous" demeanor. "Nervous? Nooo." Sasuke's unconvinced look had him adding, "Maybe? Kind of. Just a bit." He lifted a hand, showing a small distance between his fingers.

Satisfied with the answer, Sasuke nodded. "It's okay," he said. "I mean, I don't get it, but that's fine."

Oh, Sasuke. Bluntly honest as always. Even at five. It was rather cute. Naruto promptly mentally slapped himself because "cute" and Sasuke didn't fit in the same thought.

"It's just…" Naruto looked up, ignoring the side glances that the other Uchiha were shooting their way. "I've never been to a friend's place before." Not like he'd _had_ friends before. At least not ones who'd invited him over. His usual friends tended to glomp him, fight by his side, or try to punch his lights out. Sometimes all at once.

"There's a first time for everything," Sasuke said, blinking slowly. He wasn't looking at Naruto, eyes on the entrance to the Uchiha district. His expression was stoic, like he was trying not to reveal something. "And, um…" He shoved his hands in his pockets, turning his head slightly to the side as he continued speaking. "I don't really have friends over either."

Naruto blinked. "What – really?"

"Hn." Sasuke shrugged curtly, not saying anything else.

Naruto let it go, considering what he knew of Sasuke's childhood in light of this new information. The aftermath of the massacre made more sense now given that Sasuke hadn't had any friends before…

As much as Naruto loved Sasuke, he had to admit that Sasuke wasn't the most approachable of guys. Even as a kid. There was something about him that just screamed "I'm better and more awesome and you can't compare." What kid wanted to deal with that?

Naruto, apparently. Regardless of how old he was and whether he'd time traveled or not.

"Come on." Sasuke's voice was a surprise, as was how Sasuke grabbed hold of his arm to pull him forward faster. "It's not much further. Big brother's going to be there, too."

"Oh, that's nice," Naruto managed, skipping slightly so he wouldn't trip over his feet. He caught his balance and picked up the pace so Sasuke wasn't doing all the work.

Sasuke hummed in acknowledgement, apparently not noticing the sarcasm. Which was totally surprising given who Itachi was.

Naruto swallowed quietly once they stopped outside a house. There were way too many eyes on them for his taste. And he didn't mean the ANBU guard who hadn't interfered.

He'd forgotten just how creepy the Uchiha could be. The military police had always kind of steered clear of him when they were around, but the few encounters he'd had were memorable. To the point where Naruto had done his damn best to stay clear of them.

Considering the Uchiha didn't like him much, that meant encounters were kept to a minimum.

Knowing what he did now of the Uchiha's treatment by the village, it put everything in a whole new light. The Uchiha were still kinda weird, but Naruto wasn't freaked out by them anymore.

Why would he be when he knew what they were capable of?

"Freaked out" had been upgraded to "respected as all hell." Along with a generous side helping of "what the _fuck_ are their eyes."

Madara was just a bit much, okay.

Itachi was waiting outside, leaning back against the wall besides the door. He inclined his head in Naruto's direction in a friendly greeting.

"Big brother!" Sasuke sounded a bit sheepish. "Is Father there?"

Itachi tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. "He is."

"And Mom?"

"She's also home."

"Okay." Sasuke shot Naruto a glance, set his jaw, and then bid Naruto to come in.

Perplexed, Naruto followed Sasuke into the house, taking his sandals off and setting them beside Sasuke's. They looked strange, so much smaller than what Naruto was used to.

He looked away, only to stop short when he saw a pretty, dark-haired woman with eyes like Sasuke's standing there. She was staring at him like he was a ghost.

Which, o _kay_ , Naruto knew he looked a lot like his dad, but that was more when he got older. And other people had blond hair and blue eyes, too. Just maybe a little bit of a different shade of blond.

"Sasuke," Sasuke's mom said after a moment, sounding forcibly cheery, "is this your friend?"

Naruto wanted to make a good impression. He wanted to be nice and _polite_. Unfortunately, his go-to mechanism when nervous was exuberance.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto blurted out, mentally wincing at how loud his voice was. He managed to dial it down as he said, "Thanks for having me over. I'm really looking forward to it, ya know!"

Something flickered over Sasuke's mom's face, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. "Of course. It's our pleasure. Sasuke, why don't you show Naruto around? Dinner's almost ready."

"Okay, Mom." Sasuke sounded a tad too relieved to be normal.

Still rather confused and with nerves swimming in his stomach, Naruto followed after Sasuke, leaving Itachi and Sasuke's mom in the entranceway. He wasn't exactly used to going to friends' houses, but surely that wasn't normal?

She should've known his name at least, right?

And Sasuke was acting _weird_. Weirder.

"Sasuke…" Naruto made sure to keep his voice quiet. "Are _you_ okay?"

Sasuke's nod was sharp. "Yeah." A second later he said, "C'mon. I want to show you my room. Mom'll let us know when dinner's ready."

A bit of amusement mixed in with the confusion now, and Naruto had to admit he wasn't as nervous anymore. Especially since Sasuke seemed to be as nervous as him.

* * *

Once dinner was on the table, it became instantly clear that if Sasuke's dad had expected anyone, it hadn't been Uzumaki Naruto. That kneejerk response had been swiftly hidden but Naruto had caught it all the same.

Sasuke's mom – now identified as Mikoto – seemed to be doing her best to ignore any and all awkwardness by handing out food and asking Naruto questions. She no longer looked at him like he was a ghost, instead smiling at him with far too much fondness and just a tinge of old grief.

She'd probably lost someone during the Kyuubi attack, but that didn't explain the fondness. Maybe it had been one of his parents?

On the other hand, there seemed to be no love lost when it came to Fugaku. Naruto could probably stand up right now and proclaim to be a jounin of Konohagakure at the small age of five and the man would still side-eye him like he'd insulted his family.

To be fair, Naruto probably had, but then Naruto insulted most families. Not intentionally, but anyway.

Eventually Fugaku asked the question that hadn't come up before, setting his bowl down as he did. "How did you meet Sasuke, Naruto?"

Rather than answer with a full mouth, Naruto swallowed, eyes flicking to Itachi. "It was an accident, really. I didn't know anyone else was there, and then I saw Itachi's cool trick with the kunai! I had to ask about it—"

"You were hiding in the bushes," Sasuke interrupted.

"Okay, I asked about it after I left the bushes," Naruto amended. "And then Sasuke offered to teach me how to use them." He grinned widely. "I'm gonna be in the Academy next year!"

Fugaku nodded, his face looking less severe than it had before. "As will Sasuke."

"Do you want to be a shinobi?" Mikoto asked.

"Yeah!" Naruto set his chopsticks down so he wouldn't start twirling them around. "I want to be that cool. Like the shinobi around the village. They're all really strong. And the Uchiha Military Police protects people!"

Fugaku's eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you want to join the Uchiha Military Police?"

"I'm not an Uchiha, am I?" Naruto pointed out. "But I want to be that strong. So, yeah, I want to be a shinobi."

"Is it not still 'cool'?" Itachi asked, referring to one of Naruto's earlier comments. He sounded amused, though.

Naruto shrugged, picking his chopsticks up. "Well, yeah! But I don't think the old man would've let me sign up if I just said that, ya know."

Sasuke snorted, then promptly took another mouthful of food.

Mikoto's smile dampened, eyes softening. "I have no doubt you'll be a fine shinobi, Naruto."

The words were genuine – so genuine that they took Naruto by surprise. No one other than Iruka had ever told him that before. Kakashi had told him he would surpass his father, but that had been after Naruto had gone on that training trip and beaten up some bad guys. Iruka had believed in him from the beginning.

And now here was Uchiha Mikoto, a woman he had never met before, telling him he would be great.

Naruto blinked rapidly, trying not to cry. The tears came easier than they had before, and he reached up to rub at his eyes. "Thanks," he managed, giving her a watery smile.

"Hm." Fugaku's grunt sounded so much like an older Sasuke that Naruto almost looked around for his friend before catching himself.

So apparently the grunt was genetic. It had just skipped over Itachi.

With that thought, the conversation turned to matters unrelated to Naruto's future goals. Naruto focused more on Sasuke, but he was still able to pick up the considering looks Fugaku gave him, along with the palpable air of nostalgic sadness/fondness around Mikoto.

But dinner passed peacefully enough, and soon Naruto was wondering about the etiquette of leaving versus staying.

Mikoto settled the matter when she asked, "Is anyone expecting you back?"

Naruto startled slightly, blinking up at her. "Ah, no. I have my own place."

Mikoto's smile seemed to stiffen. "Oh?"

"Yeah." Naruto offered a casual shrug, not really wanting to get into the orphanage thing again.

"What about your parents?" Mikoto's question was careful.

Now Naruto was more amused than anything. It was nice of her to pretend he was a normal kid. "I don't have any."

There was definite pain flashing across Mikoto's face now. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right." Naruto gave her a sunny grin. "It's not too bad, living by myself. I can cook now, ya know!"

The pained expression shifted to mild alarm. "That is admirable, Naruto. Is there a reason you're not living at the orphanage?"

Talking to Itachi and Sasuke was one thing. Sasuke's _mom_? Yeah, no.

At the actual age of five, Naruto would've brushed it off and laughed about it, proclaiming something about being awesome. Naruto could do the same now, but he wasn't really five. And he didn't want to be that same person.

So he shrugged, looking off to the side.

"They didn't want him anymore," Sasuke said, having listened in.

Naruto's shoulders unconsciously drew in at the words, which stung more than expected. He dropped his chin, eyes on the wooden floorboards.

"I see." Mikoto's voice was soft. "Well…you must be very responsible, Naruto. Not many children your age would be able to live on their own."

Naruto glanced up, relieved to see a non-pitying expression on her face. "Heh heh, yeah. Guess I'm just that awesome, ya know."

His verbal tic had Mikoto's eyes tighten, her lips twitching down. It was the same reaction she'd had all through dinner.

And Naruto had used it when introducing himself.

Shit, his mom had probably been friends with Mikoto, hadn't she?

It had been so long since Naruto had been given the chance to meet that chakra impression of her that all but the most important things had been forgotten. He remembered her face and smile. Her red hair and how warm her hug was. Her parting words to him. The main parts of the story she had told him.

But all the rest? Naruto had forgotten.

When Naruto looked again, Mikoto's expression had changed to a resolute one. "It's getting late. You can spend the night if you would like to, Naruto. I'm sure Sasuke wouldn't mind."

"Really?" Sasuke burst out, eyes wide. A second later he composed himself. "I mean, no, I don't. You're welcome to," he told Naruto.

"Um, yeah?" Naruto looked between the two. "Okay? You don't mind?" He hadn't expected this.

"It's late," Mikoto repeated. "You shouldn't have to walk back alone."

Naruto wouldn't be _alone_ technically, but he wasn't supposed to know about his ANBU guard.

If he stayed he wouldn't be able to sneak out for training. But if he left that would be rude, wouldn't it? And didn't normal five-year-olds accept invitations like this?

"Thank you," Naruto said eventually. He put his hands together, inclining his head. He wasn't going to go so far as to prostrate himself, but this would be fine.

From the extreme nerves of this morning to the unexpected surprise of being invited to spend the night, Naruto's day sure had turned around.

At least he hadn't messed up?

* * *

Sasuke's house was large, but that didn't mean Naruto couldn't hear what was going on downstairs. He wasn't intentionally trying to listen, but his hearing was pretty good even without enhancing it with chakra.

Sasuke was asleep, his breathing a familiar rhythm even now, years after his older self had died. Naruto could almost fall asleep to it if it weren't for the other unfamiliar chakra signatures nearby. And the voices of Sasuke's parents.

They weren't shouting, but they definitely weren't whispering either.

Curled up under his blankets and still wide awake, Naruto found himself an unwitting eavesdropper to a conversation that involved him and Sasuke.

"Sasuke cannot continue his relationship with him." Fugaku's words sounded loud in the stillness of the night.

"He is a child." Mikoto's words were softer but no less firm. "Have you forgotten what he does for us? Who he is?"

"I remember," Fugaku said icily. "I remember exactly what happened five years ago and what it did to us. What do you think the village will think when they see our son associating with the boy?"

"This is our chance to change things. If they see Sasuke being friends with him—"

"They will assume we are manipulating the boy. There is no kindness here for the Uchiha, Mikoto."

There was a long pause before Mikoto spoke again, her voice much quieter than before. Naruto had to channel a small bit of chakra to his ears to catch what she said. "You are asking me to abandon him. A child. A child who has been abandoned by everyone else who should care for him."

Fugaku's voice was thankfully louder. Naruto's ears smarted from the chakra he'd used; he still needed to work on balancing it properly. "He is not your child, Mikoto. He is a ward of the village."

The silence that fell now was longer than before. Naruto almost thought that Mikoto had given up speaking when he caught the whisper, so quiet that he almost missed it. "He would have been Sasuke's friend. They would have grown up together."

"I know." Fugaku's voice was also quiet now, the gentlest it had been since Naruto had met him. "I'm sorry it has to be this way."

Mikoto's response was damning. "It doesn't have to be."

If there was another response, Naruto didn't hear it. He was too busy trying to muffle his ears with his pillow, throat burning and eyes stinging. His chest felt suspiciously tight, and he was having trouble breathing.

Damn it.

He couldn't have nice things, could he?

* * *

Being back in his empty, quiet apartment felt sadly normal. Being back in his empty, quiet apartment and knowing he couldn't sneak out to see Kakashi was worse. Because Kakashi still wasn't back. Probably wouldn't be back until tomorrow.

So Naruto was on his own. Even more so than before because he'd kept clear of Sasuke.

There probably would have been _questions_ but Sasuke's parents had been pretty quick in making sure that Sasuke was out of Naruto's way after he left the Uchiha district. So that was that.

Naruto probably wouldn't be able to see Sasuke again until he was in the Academy. And that was a _long_ way off still. What the hell was he supposed to do in the meantime? Just train?

Naruto was no Bushy Brows. Or his sensei.

Training was fun and all but Naruto couldn't do it nonstop without going nuts.

Flopping face down on his bed, Naruto made the executive decision to take a nap first before heading out to do chakra control exercises. He needed to get his control of the kage bunshin back to where it should be.

Exhaling softly, Naruto turned his head to the side so he could breathe, closing his eyes.

There were fuzzy images of him doing jutsu and the jutsu backfiring ridiculously dancing across his mind when there was a tug in his gut. Instinctively, Naruto followed it, finding himself in his mindscape and staring up at Kurama.

"Up now?" Naruto managed, scratching the back of his head. His adult voice was a strangely familiar comfort. "You've been asleep a while, Kurama."

"You try recovering from total chakra exhaustion, Naruto," Kurama grumbled, eyes narrowing.

"Uh, no thanks. It sucks."

Kurama grumbled again, this time a low growl in the back of his throat. It would've intimidated Naruto once upon a time, but Naruto knew Kurama too well.

"I haven't figured anything about the seal yet, ya know," Naruto said, tucking his hands in his pockets. "It's only been a week."

"That's not why I brought you here," Kurama said. "The seal can wait for now. Your body's too young at this point to handle my chakra, purified or not."

Naruto made a face at the reminder of his current physical age. "Don't remind me. I'm stuck relearning the basics. At least Kakashi-sensei's still able to go on missions."

"He's older," Kurama pointed out. Then he groaned, the sound guttural. "Why does this always happen when I talk to you?"

"Because I'm awesome?" Naruto offered, grinning.

Kurama didn't respond, which was a shame. Instead he lifted one of his large paws and curled a claw in Naruto's direction. "Come here."

Naruto didn't hesitate to slip through the bars, coming to stand directly before Kurama.

"As it so happens," Kurama said, "I wasn't only sleeping this last week. My siblings were in touch with me."

Naruto blinked. "What – seriously? _Now_? I thought you guys didn't talk to each other!"

"Do you remember what I said about being an embodiment of chakra?"

"That you're not limited to time?" It took Naruto another instant to realize what Kurama was getting at. "No way. You're telling me they came back? _All_ of them?"

Kurama's grin was pleased despite the numerous sharp teeth it bared. "Do you want to see them?"

"Oh, can I?" Naruto glanced back at the locked doors. "Even with the seal?"

There was a mixture of softness and embarrassment in Kurama's face. "Seal or not, we're still partners, aren't we?"

The words rang through the air, heavy with everything they promised. Naruto could count on one hand the number of times Kurama had _verbally_ acknowledged him as a partner.

This was…

This current body wasn't as prone to tears, but Naruto had no qualms about grinning widely.

"Always, Kurama!" Naruto held out his fist, holding Kurama's gaze as his partner bumped their knuckles together.

The moment they made contact, Naruto's surroundings shifted. Instead of a cage, they were standing in a vast space with no end. It would have been even emptier if it weren't for the other eight bijuu standing in a circle around them.

Shukaku was the first to speak, greeting Naruto a with a bark of laughter. "Hey, brat! You're looking old!"

Because he was definitely a mature adult now, Naruto stuck his tongue out. "Hey, I was fifteen when you saw me last time!" He paused. "Or sixteen? Depends on the time of night…"

Kurama was definitely face-palming behind him.

"Naruto."

Naruto turned at the familiar voice, looking up at the visage of a fierce monkey. "Son Goku."

Son Goku's mouth twitched into the faint resemblance of a grin. "So…you failed, Naruto."

Naruto dropped his head at the accusation. "Yeah."

"You weren't there, Son Goku!" Gyuuki protested. "Naruto tried!"

"No, it's okay." Naruto lifted his head, managing a pained smile, eyes closed. "He's right. I promised I'd free you guys, and I didn't."

"You interrupted me before I could continue," Son Goku said, hands coming down to the ground. His tails lashed out. "You failed, but we're here now. So you have another chance."

"Yeah." Naruto brightened slightly, heart lifting at the non-recrimination in Son Goku's tone. "That's why we came back."

"We, hm?" Son Goku looked up to Kurama. "Kakashi, was it?"

"Yeah," Kurama confirmed. "Naruto's sensei."

"And Hokage," Naruto said, folding his arms. "We're going to fix it. We're going to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"You better not!" Shukaku snapped.

"It won't!" Naruto shot back, jaw set. "That's a promise!"

"That's what we like to hear," Son Goku said, snorting. "Good to hear you haven't lost your spark."

"Hmph." Naruto tilted his head back, lips curling.

He looked between each of the bijuu, noting they were all present. It was a sight he hadn't seen since he was fifteen and facing down Obito.

"Where are the jinchuuriki?" Naruto asked.

"They couldn't come," Matatabi said. "None of us are close enough for that."

"They don't hear us," Saiken said forlornly.

"B's pretty close to it," Gyuuki said proudly.

"Oh, B!" Naruto turned to Gyuuki. "Is he here, too?"

Gyuuki lowered his head, eyes shuttering. "B's human, Naruto. The jutsu only had enough power to take you and Kakashi. But he's fine."

Naruto tried not to deflate, but it was difficult with how tightly his chest seemed to squeeze. "Oh. Well, I guess that's all right." He grinned weakly, rubbing the side of his head. "And…none of the others remember?" He had met all of them, even if it had been after they were dead.

"No," Kokuou confirmed, five tails whirling behind him. "But they are alive, which is more than what could have been said before."

"Speak for yourself," Shukaku groused. "Mine's a _shrimp_ again. A terrified shrimp!"

"Oh!" Naruto pointed at Shukaku. "You're not going to pretend to be Gaara's mother again, are you? Because that screwed him up big time!"

"As screwed up as Shukaku," Kurama muttered.

"Not again!" Shukaku denied, glaring down at Naruto. "That doesn't get me anything!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Shukaku. "Good! Because Gaara doesn't deserve that! And you don't either. You could be great partners, ya know!"

"I know, kid." Shukaku actually looked a little shame-faced. "Gaara might be small now, but I know what he'll grow into."

"He won't this time," Kurama warned, sitting on his hind legs. "Not like before. Things are changing, Shukaku."

"I know that!" Shukaku snapped. "But it's still the little twerp, isn't it? He'll be something great."

"Mine is under a genjutsu," Isobu rumbled, one eye blinking slowly. "A Sharingan-induced genjutsu."

Naruto instantly remembered the somber green-haired man who had looked so young despite his age. "The Yondaime Mizukage! So it was this far back already, huh…"

"Obito is older than Kakashi, Naruto," Kurama reminded him. "And he's been in Madara's clutches for years now."

"I know," Naruto said, clenching his hands into fists at his sides. "I know who we're dealing with. I fought him. But…" He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Damn it. I kind of like him."

Kurama snorted. "Big surprise there."

Naruto just shrugged, tilting his head with a small sheepish grin. Well…he _did_. Once one got past the whole shtick Madara had done to Obito, the guy was actually kind of cool.

Granted, it had taken a little before it really started to show, but it had been worth the wait. And the pain to knock Obito back to his senses.

"I'll have to talk it over with sensei," Naruto said eventually, looking between each of the bijuu. "See what ideas he has. Right now we're both kinda stuck because our chakra control is shot to hell."

"Your chakra control was always shoddy," Kurama said, snorting.

"It got better!" Naruto protested.

"Yeah, after how long?"

"It'll get better faster this time!"

Gyuuki chortled. "That never gets old."

Kurama's ears laid flat against his skull. " _What_?" he snarled.

None of the other bijuu looked at all intimidated, which just seemed to piss Kurama off even more.

Naruto had to cover his mouth to hide his grin, although the laughter wasn't so easily stifled. He resorted to coughing to muffle it.

Kurama wasn't fooled. "What are you laughing at, brat?"

"Nothing!" Naruto coughed again, shoulders shaking. One last snicker escaped him before he was able to calm down. "Okay, so…"

He sobered, glad to see that the bijuu were gazing at him seriously. "Since you guys are also here, we'll be including you in our plans. It makes dealing with Akatsuki a lot easier since we won't have to go hunting you down to tell you that they're after you."

"You'll have to anyway," Son Goku said, sounding faintly disgusted. "Our jinchuuriki won't listen to us."

"Any warnings given would be assumed to be a falsehood for us to gain our freedom," Kokuou added.

Naruto nodded, considering the next steps to take. "So if the easy route's out—"

"I can speak to Fuu," Choumei suggested. "She's young still."

"And Gaara's even younger," Shukaku griped. "He'll listen. Even if he won't understand, the little twerp…" He dissolved into further grumblings.

"So that makes two, but they're still kids," Naruto said, frowning slightly. "Kakashi can get out of the village, but he's on a team. We might need to hold off on reaching out to any of them just yet. When did the Akatsuki start taking them?"

"Not for some years yet," Son Goku said. "There's still time."

"B'll be able to come here in no time," Gyuuki said.

"Yugito will not be much longer either," Matatabi added. "They are, after all, from the same village."

"So that makes four who'll be coming here soon," Naruto mused. "And all from different villages." He couldn't help but grin, pleased. "That'll definitely make things easier."

He clapped his hands together, the sound ringing loudly in the space around them. "All right! I know we can do this!" He pumped a fist in the air.

"Yes, we can," Kurama agreed, holding his paw right over Naruto's fist.

One by one, the other bijuu added their limbs to the mixture, their chakra a reassuring weight that Naruto reveled in.

Like this, it was easy to forget the mess that awaited him in the waking world. Here he was an adult. Here he had the respect of nine powerful bijuu. Here he was able to _do_ something.

Kakashi was going to be _stoked_ when Naruto told him about this.

* * *

Kakashi was back in the village, but there was no way Naruto would be able to meet him anytime soon. For one thing, it was daytime. For another, there were too many eyes on him.

…Those two things technically added up to the same reason.

Which still left him with the problem of knowing Kakashi was back safe and alive but not being able to see him.

Naruto _had_ kind of edged his way in the direction of Kakashi's apartment just so he could get a better read on his state. He hadn't seen Kakashi, but it was enough to check that Kakashi was really fine.

Now Naruto had to figure out what to do with the rest of his day. He'd gone to the usual meeting place with Sasuke out of habit, but no one had been there.

Naruto had waited as well, but Sasuke never showed.

It hurt, even though Naruto knew exactly why Sasuke hadn't come.

Now he was hiding out by the playground, hidden from the view of the parents. It was the civilian playground, although there were occasionally shinobi families as well.

Naruto hadn't exactly wanted to do this so quickly, but his luck couldn't get any worse. And it was worth a shot, right?

Still, there was no sign of familiar pink hair. Not yet, anyway.

Of course, Naruto wasn't even sure if Sakura came to this playground. It was an educated guess based on the little he knew of her civilian upbringing (which was just about nothing at all).

That lack of knowledge coupled with how Sakura's parents were civilians was why he hadn't wanted to reach out at this point. It would have been easier to wait until the Academy.

A loud playful shriek erupted from some of the kids playing, coupled with pleas for mercy.

But then…when did Naruto ever go for _easy_?

Sakura was as important as Sasuke. Even if it didn't work out, he needed to make the effort to reach out.

Because what _if_? What if Team 7 didn't form? What if Naruto wouldn't be able to have Sakura on his team? Sasuke?

Fuck, that would _suck._

And if Kakashi wasn't his sensei?

Naruto wasn't sure how he would deal.

Okay, yeah, he could deal with not having Sakura be annoyed and upset with him every five seconds. But he was different now! She'd be different, too.

Hopefully.

Shivering, Naruto rubbed his head as the ghost memory of Sakura's punches made itself known.

At least he didn't have to run this by Kakashi. Kakashi had made it clear that Naruto needed to do what he thought was best.

Even if Naruto was relatively sure he'd fucked things up with Sasuke. Which hadn't been in the plan at all.

Or maybe he hadn't. It had only been a day. Sasuke might show up tomorrow.

In the meantime, Naruto was going to scout for Sakura. He wouldn't approach her today, but it was good to know where she would be for the future.

He couldn't mess things up worse with Sakura. Maybe.

Ugh, he'd probably just jinxed himself.

Picking up a stick, Naruto began tracing vague pictures in the dirt while paying attention to the kids in the playground. It probably made for a sad sight for his ANBU guards, but it didn't really matter.

It was well after lunch – and Naruto's stomach was making its displeasure known loudly – when he finally saw the pink hair he had been waiting for.

Letting the stick drop, Naruto shifted to crouching on the balls of his feet, watching as Sakura's parents let her go before withdrawing. And then they actually left the playground altogether about ten minutes later.

That was…unusual. As far as Naruto knew, civilian parents didn't usually leave their kids alone. The number of parents lingering around the playground was proof enough of that.

Maybe it was a one-time thing?

Well, Naruto could find out. He wasn't exactly in a hurry.

* * *

Several days later, and still no sign of Sasuke, Naruto had to admit that not being able to talk to anyone but Kakashi was slowly driving him nuts. Kakashi was great, but he was only able to see him for a few hours every night. The rest of the time they were sleeping. Although Kakashi had been out on another mission for the last two days, so Naruto didn't even have _that_.

And Naruto felt kind of pathetic waiting for Sasuke. A bit like a dog waiting for its master to show, who never did. Naruto wasn't a dog, so the analogy was bad, but then it was also kind of accurate and he hated it.

Okay, he was never telling Kakashi this.

On the plus side, he had seen Sakura at the playground one other time, and her parents had left her alone again. So this time…

Naruto was definitely not a creep hiding in the bushes. For one thing, there weren't any bushes. For another, he wasn't an old man. He was just an adult in a kid's body. Which…wasn't that bad. And he wasn't doing it for creepy reasons.

If it was that, he would be in the bathhouses. The women wouldn't chase him out because he was tiny and – Naruto cut off that train of thought before he had to slap himself.

It was a very good thing ero-sennin wasn't anywhere around. Naruto was pretty sure he'd be cackling right about now.

Sighing, Naruto picked up the stick that had become his companion since he'd started spending time here. It probably wasn't the same stick, but he could hope.

Scribbling aimlessly in the dirt, Naruto occasionally glanced up at the playground, hoping for a familiar glance of pink hair. Sakura's chakra still wasn't developed, so he couldn't sense her like he could Sasuke. It was aggravating and kind of worrying at the same time.

Biting his lip, Naruto finished his scribble of Kakashi flash-frying a white Zetsu. He spent a moment wishing for a camera so he could take a picture of it for posterity before erasing it. His Kakashi scribble looked more like a scarecrow with hair than his actual sensei, but it was still safer this way.

His next scribble was more along the lines of a toad wielding an oversized sword, but he abandoned it partway through when he saw Sakura arrive. Dropping the stick, Naruto waited anxiously for her parents to leave, hoping, hoping, _hoping_ —

Yes!

Naruto couldn't believe his luck.

It had taken another ten minutes this time, but Sakura was there, off to the side, picking at grass instead of playing with the other kids. Instead of being held back by a hitai-ate, her hair covered her face. Naruto had never seen her with her hair like that before.

It made it difficult to see her face.

Slowly, making sure to hide his presence from the civilian parents milling around, Naruto made his way over to Sakura.

Once he was close enough, Naruto imitated Sakura's posture and ran his fingers through the grass, head tilted as he observed this so-young version of his friend and teammate.

Damn, Sakura was _small_.

"Hey," Naruto said when it became clear Sakura wouldn't be doing any talking.

Sakura's shoulders hunched inward, a sight Naruto was unused to seeing on his friend.

Maybe he'd been too loud?

"Hey," Naruto tried again, voice softer.

This time there was a response, an equally soft "Hey."

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto plucked a blade of grass, rubbing it between his fingers.

Sakura peeked up through her bangs, green eyes achingly familiar. "H-Haruno Sakura."

"Sakura, huh?" Naruto dialed his grin down several notches. "That's a nice name. It's like your hair!"

There was no smile from Sakura like Naruto had aimed for. Instead there were only watering eyes.

Shit, what had he done wrong now?

"Eh?" Naruto started flailing. "Don't cry! What's wrong, Sakura?"

"You don't have to pretend to be nice," Sakura said, with a faint undertone of the steel Naruto was so familiar with. "I know I'm ugly."

"What?" Naruto blurted out, only to wince because he hadn't intended on saying that. He scrambled to recover his dignity. "Who says that? They must be blind!"

"Now you're really being mean." Sakura shrunk away, frowning. She stood up.

Why were women so weird? Sakura wasn't even an adult yet!

Frowning as well, Naruto considered his next move. It was clear that Sakura was five seconds away from leaving him, and that wasn't something he wanted.

Only one thing for it.

Taking a breath, he let himself discard the mask of the five-year-old, standing as well. The only thing ruining it was his too-high voice. "No, Sakura. I'm not. Who told you that you're ugly?"

It did the trick. Sakura paused, turning to eye Naruto strangely. "Everyone," she answered stiffly.

"Everyone, huh?" Naruto let out a small laugh. "Well, I guess I'm not everyone, then. Since I think your name's a great fit for you. You're like a sakura blossom."

There was a faint flush over Sakura's cheeks. "R-really?" Her voice was a whisper. "Y-you don't think my…forehead's too big?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked, squinting closer at Sakura before he could think the better of it. "Who told you that? You've got a normal forehead!"

His bewilderment had Sakura giggling, rubbing her eyes with a hand. "Y-you think so?"

"Of course!" Naruto insisted, placing his hands on his hips. "Uzumaki Naruto doesn't lie about important things like that!"

Sakura smiled, eyes crinkling shut. "Thank you, Naruto."

"Sure thing!" Naruto grinned back, shooting her a thumbs up and then regretting it when he got flashbacks to another shinobi with bushier eyebrows.

Dropping the thumb, Naruto went to interlink his fingers behind his head, looking up at the blue sky and the bank of clouds in the distance. There would probably be some rain tonight, he noted absently. Then he shook the thought away and refocused on Sakura.

"So what d'you do for fun around here?" Naruto asked.

Sakura glanced back at the playground. "I, uh…usually just stay over here. It's quieter."

Meaning less chance of the kids teasing her for being ugly.

Naruto didn't comment on it, nodding. "Okay! Then we can stay over here and do something cool! Like, uh…" He looked around quickly. "Make flower crowns!" That was something girls liked to do, right? He couldn't exactly practice throwing shuriken with Sakura.

Sakura looked skeptical. "You want to make flower crowns?"

"Yeah!" Naruto crouched to pick up a yellow flower that might have been a dandelion. "Only…you might need to teach me, ha." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I don't really know how to make them either," Sakura admitted, joining Naruto. "But we can try together?"

It was difficult for Naruto not to cry, but he somehow managed.

Sakura never noticed, gathering flowers to begin her first attempt at making a flower crown. It went absolutely horribly, but then Naruto's attempt wasn't any better.

Eventually, several dozen ruined flowers later, they just sat at the base of a tree and tried to whistle using grass blades. Naruto had managed it once, but there was a trick to it that his younger mouth hadn't gotten yet.

"When do you have to go home?" Sakura asked him, looking down at her blade of grass with a small pout.

Naruto shrugged, searching for a larger piece of grass. "Whenever. I live on my own."

Sakura paused, looking at him in disbelief. "Alone? But you're my age!"

"Yeah?" Naruto gave her a squinty-eyed grin. "It's okay, Sakura."

"But don't your parents care?"

"They're dead," Naruto said bluntly, feeling only vaguely bad for the look of horror that crossed Sakura's face. It probably would've been worse if he was younger, but at this point he didn't really care much anymore. "So, no, I don't think so."

"I-I'm sorry." Sakura ducked her head, shoulders inching up. "That must be lonely."

Naruto paused, gaze on a tree just across from them. "A bit," he admitted eventually. "I'm used to it." Or he was getting used to it again.

Sakura said nothing else. When Naruto looked, he could tell she was feeling awkward.

Exhaling through his nose, Naruto tried to change the subject. "What about you, Sakura? When do you need to go?"

"When my parents get back," Sakura said. "They had some errands to run."

"Errands, huh? Are they shinobi?"

Sakura shook her head. "No. They're merchants."

"Neat," Naruto said, meaning it. He hadn't known that before. "D'you want to be a merchant, too?"

Sakura didn't answer immediately, eyes on the ground. "I…I should say yes, shouldn't I?"

Naruto turned his head, watching her curiously. "I guess…that's up to you, isn't it?"

"I don't know," Sakura said slowly. "It's nice. I know how it works. But…it's boring."

Naruto dearly wanted to tell her to join the Academy, but that decision needed to be Sakura's. He opted for a neutral answer. "You can figure it out later."

"Yeah…" Sakura didn't seem satisfied with that, her brow scrunched together. It cleared when she looked at Naruto. "What about you?"

"Oh, that's easy!" Naruto pointed his finger up. "I'm gonna be a shinobi! The best shinobi ever!"

"A…shinobi?" Sakura blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Naruto nodded vigorously. "Shinobi are strong – really strong. People see them all the time." He leaned back, hands on the ground. "I want to be like that."

"That's all?" Sakura peered at him.

Naruto dipped his head in a nod, then paused. He owed Sakura more honesty than that. "Well…" He dropped his voice, quiet enough that the ANBU would need to purposefully eavesdrop to hear him. "I want to protect people. Like my parents…they were shinobi. They protected Konoha. That's why I want to be a shinobi."

"Oh." Sakura's eyes were wide. "That's amazing, Naruto."

"Is it?" Naruto rubbed the underside of his nose with a finger, eyes closed sheepishly. "I think you're the only one I've said that to."

Sakura's exhalation was loud, and she blinked. After a moment, she said, "Thank you."

"Eh? What are you thanking me for?"

"Because!" With that mysterious answer, Sakura stood, looking down at Naruto with a beaming smile.

"You know that's not an answer, right?" Naruto pointed out.

"It is!" Sakura stuck her tongue out.

"Er…no?" Naruto shook his head, jumping to his feet.

"It is when I say it is," Sakura said bluntly.

Naruto was sure it didn't work like that, but there was no arguing with Sakura when she got like this. "Uh…sure it is."

Sensing victory, Sakura beamed, reaching out to take Naruto's hand. "Come on! I just saw my parents."

No, no, no, this wouldn't go well at _all_.

"W-wait, Sakura!"

Sakura being Sakura, she didn't listen, continuing to drag Naruto in the direction of her parents.

"Mom! Dad!" Sakura called, happiness in every word. "I want you to meet my friend Nar—"

"Let go of him," Sakura's mother interrupted sharply. Her face was hard, eyes steely as she glared at Naruto. She had recognized him instantly.

Sakura stopped dead. "M-Mom?"

Her mother didn't respond, stepping forward and taking Sakura's other hand, pulling her away from Naruto. He let her go, not resisting as Sakura's hand fell lax in shock.

"Don't go near that boy," Sakura's mother told her, eyes never leaving Naruto.

"B-but, Mom—"

"He's dangerous," her father cut in. His eyes were as cold as his wife's.

"He's my friend!" Sakura protested, eyes on Naruto, confusion written all over her face.

"We're leaving, Sakura," her mother snapped. "I don't want to see you near that boy again."

They didn't tell Naruto to stay clear of Sakura, but they didn't need to. Their faces were clear enough.

Silent now, eyes wide and watery, Sakura let her mother lead her away, looking back at Naruto in stunned shock. She seemed to be apologizing, although it was clear she had no idea what was going on.

Naruto didn't move, hands fisted at his sides. His chest hurt, and his vision swam like he was crying. Only there were no tears.

It shouldn't hurt this much, should it? He'd dealt with this before. He was _used_ to this.

So why did it _hurt_?

When Sakura was no longer in sight, Naruto turned and ran.

He didn't stop running for a long time.

* * *

 **...Okay, I know that was...awful? Unexpected? Um...it gets better?**

 **I realize this is an awful note to leave this off of but I can't say when Chapter 9 will be out. Only that...um...yeah, I don't have an excuse for leaving you guys on this. Sorry.**

 **...Feedback? *ducks***


	8. Chapter 8

**So far Germany has been pretty great, although the weather looks to be getting cooler over the next few days. As for Houston...I hope anyone who got hit by Hurricane Harvey has been staying as safe as possible.**

 **I've been informed about some inconsistencies in my timeline compared to _Naruto_ 's, to which I really only have to say that _Naruto_ 's timeline is rather confusing to look at? So I pieced something together for my own personal use, which is based on the manga and not the anime. Some liberties have been taken in order to have things make more sense, but my timeline is for the most part coherent. Some things remain kind of fudged but I hope it's more accurate than what canon gives us.**

 **In any case, I had most of the next chapter written while flying, so there was really only a little more to tack on before I could finish it up. And since the last chapter ended so brutally... I did say it gets better, right?**

 **Thank you so much for all the lovely feedback! :D I haven't had the time to respond to most of it yet but I love and appreciate all of it! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

* * *

Kakashi knew something was wrong the moment he arrived at Naruto's apartment that night because Naruto wasn't home.

There was a note hidden where only Kakashi could find it, written in a code that Kakashi hadn't seen before but was able to crack after several minutes. It helped that it was a list of references to things he and Naruto had done and no one else knew about.

Naruto wasn't here because he was already at their training ground.

Pocketing the note, Kakashi set off, once again avoiding Naruto's ignorant ANBU guards. There was a brief close call with an unexpectedly sneaky cat that almost sent him teetering over the edge of a roof, but he quickly recovered and vanished into a shunshin.

When he found Naruto, the other was pummeling a training post, taijutsu form far sloppier than Kakashi had seen in years.

"Hey"—Naruto grunted as his knuckles hit the wooden post with a painful sounding thump—"sensei. Hope your"—his other hand hit the post—"mission went well." He whirled, roundhouse kicking the post in a form that Minato would have been ashamed to see. "Because everything _here_ "—there was another grunt as he punched the post twice in rapid succession—"went _awesome_."

Kakashi hesitated, unsure of what had brought on this black mood. No one had died had they? "Naruto—"

Naruto's sharp head shake cut him off, and Kakashi let the words die in his throat. Not that he had any idea what he would have said anyway. Words were useless without knowing what the problem was.

Naruto's form evened out over the next few minutes, improving from the sloppy, horrible taijutsu that Kakashi had walked in on. It still wasn't as fast and smooth as what Kakashi was used to, but then Naruto was physically five and clearly not in his right frame of mind.

"I had dinner with Sasuke's family a few days ago," Naruto said eventually, long minutes later. He was still hitting the post, occasionally throwing in a few kicks. His hands were bloody – the sharp metallic scent stinging Kakashi's nose – but he didn't seem to care. "Just great, right?"

Naruto lapsed back into silence, the only sound that of his fists punching the wood. Then, "Fugaku doesn't want me seeing him again. He didn't tell me that, but I overheard it. And I haven't seen Sasuke since." He continued punching as he spoke. "So I talked to Sakura today. It worked out fine. At first."

Kakashi didn't say anything, waiting for Naruto to get it all out. He didn't react to the sounds of Naruto's abused knuckles hitting solid wood, even though Naruto's hands weren't at all accustomed to the abuse he was putting them through.

Physical injuries could be healed. What was happening now was more important.

"But then she wanted to introduce me to her parents." Naruto's bark of laughter was harsh. "Great idea, yeah? Introduce the demon brat to the civilian parents who can't tell the jinchuuriki apart from the bijuu. Not that she knew that. She just wanted to introduce"—his knuckles hit the post—"her new"—he kicked it—" _friend_." His voice broke on the last word.

Shit. Maybe no one had died, but it was still pretty terrible.

"Naruto—" Kakashi started hesitantly, not sure at all what to say because shit, he was so unqualified to handle this even years and an entire war later.

"I don't know what to do!" Naruto cried, his form slipping again as he punched the post. "I thought I could handle it! I did it before, didn't I? But it still _hurts_ , and I don't know why because it's not like I didn't go through it last time!"

"Naruto—"

"I can't handle being alone again! I _can't_!"

Before he could think the better of it, Kakashi lunged forwards, wrapping both arms around Naruto and pulling him away from the post before he could punch it again and risk breaking something even more. "Naruto, calm down."

Naruto didn't struggle, going limp in Kakashi's grip. "I fuck everything up."

If it had been any other situation, Kakashi would have joked, said that was his line, but that wasn't the right way to approach this. He didn't know what was, but he didn't want to mess things up anymore than they already were.

"You know that's not true," Kakashi said instead, relaxing his grip once he was sure Naruto wasn't going to pull away and start hurting himself again.

"Isn't it?" Naruto was staring blankly ahead, hands hanging limply at his sides, blood trickling down his fingers. His feet weren't as battered, but then his sandals hid most of the damage.

"You mess up," Kakashi said slowly, carefully lowering both of them until he was sitting on the grass, holding Naruto in a facsimile of a hug. "That's normal. What matters is what you do afterwards."

Naruto's head bowed, but he didn't otherwise respond.

Kakashi sighed, eyes closing. "Living with our failures is something we all have to deal with. Some days it's easier, some days it isn't. But, Naruto, what happened today isn't on you. It's on the village. It's on Sarutobi."

"It shouldn't _hurt_ so badly…" Naruto murmured thickly.

Kakashi had Naruto turn around, gripping hold of his shoulders as he met his eyes. "I would be worried if it didn't," he said quietly, "because that's who you are, Naruto. And it's something I don't want to see you lose."

Naruto broke their gaze, eyes dropping to the ground between them. "'Cause it's fun?" he asked dully.

"Don't be ridiculous," Kakashi said sharply, tightening his grip briefly in recrimination. "You know exactly why."

"If it feels like this all the time," Naruto blurted out, eyes watering, "then I don't want it." Tears streamed down his cheeks. "I _don't_ , Kakashi. Because it hurts, and there's nothing I can do about it. And you're not _here_ – I can't go and see you without fucking things up – and I can't make _any_ friends now because they just leave—"

Kakashi pushed upwards and pulled Naruto into his chest in one seamless movement, one hand at the back of Naruto's head and the other wrapped around Naruto's small waist. Hugging wasn't something he was accustomed to, but he could push his discomfort aside for Naruto.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Kakashi said, relieved that Naruto had stopped speaking, clearly shocked into silence. "I'm not leaving. It doesn't matter what you do; I'll still be here. Not just because we came back together, but because I _want_ to be. What happened today – it's temporary. It won't last forever. You know that."

Naruto didn't answer with words, but then he didn't need to. With a muffled sob, he flung his arms around Kakashi's neck, burying his face in the shoulder of Kakashi's flak jacket as he cried.

Kakashi didn't move, even though he was in a rather awkward position to put himself on the same level as Naruto. He exhaled slowly, chest loosening as he realized that he'd somehow managed to say what Naruto needed to hear.

Give him motivational speeches or a way to break down enemies psychologically and Kakashi could do it. Emotional support like this? He was lucky if he didn't somehow manage to mess things up.

When Naruto's shaking started to calm down and the tears didn't come so heavily, Kakashi drew away, relaxing his stance until he was kneeling in the grass. He took Naruto's bloodied hands in his own, glad to see that they were beginning to heal.

He reached into his bag nonetheless, pulling out a roll of bandages. "Let's bandage this up, hm? I know you'll heal, but it's better that there's no chance of infection."

"Okay." Naruto's answer was quiet, and he held still as Kakashi wound the bandages around both hands.

"If you need to hit something," Kakashi said, not looking up from his work, "then talk to me. It's better than hitting a stationary block of wood and hurting yourself like this."

"I was hoping it would break," Naruto admitted, fingers twitching briefly as Kakashi tightened the bandage. "But I've got a lot of work left to do."

Kakashi didn't comment on Naruto's sloppy taijutsu. He doubtlessly already knew that.

Once both hands were wrapped up, Kakashi wound up what was left of the bandages and put it away, moving to stand. He kept his voice light as he spoke. "Let's go back."

Naruto's head snapped up. "Back?"

Humming in acknowledgement, Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's head. "I just got back from a mission, and I don't really feel like training tonight in the rain." It was due to start soon. "And I've got some food in my cupboards that will go bad soon if I don't eat it."

"Oh." Naruto ducked his head, shoulders quivering. "Okay," he whispered. "That…sounds good."

There was a faint smile on Naruto's tearstained face as they left the training grounds. And Kakashi, so help him, was smiling as well.

* * *

Naruto was definitely in a better mood by the morning when Kakashi dropped him off at the apartment. He also seemed a little like he was trying too hard to pretend that his breakdown had never happened, but Kakashi would let him have it.

Naruto had sat through several of Kakashi's own, doing a much better job at bolstering Kakashi's spirits than Kakashi could return.

As it was, it upset Kakashi that there wasn't more he could do. That he couldn't go up to Naruto's apartment in the daytime and take him out to train or make sure that he was okay.

He wasn't even on Naruto's guard roster right now, Sarutobi needing his team for another high profile mission.

It was a mission Kakashi could do by himself if he wanted to, but more eyes were always a good thing.

His last two missions had been _fun_.

No injuries, but Kakashi wasn't sure if he'd overplayed his hand with the skills he'd shown. He'd purposefully limited himself to jutsu that he knew he would've known at this time, but there were other skills not so easily hidden. Like his taijutsu or his more refined senses.

Or that he was rather out of shape at using a tantou because he hadn't picked one up in years until he traveled back seventeen years.

This time around Kakashi was going to keep it up. It was always good to have another skill in store, and he would be able to pass it on to Sasuke as well. Better him than Orochimaru.

Not that Sasuke would go to Orochimaru this time. Not if Naruto had anything to say about it (which he did; a lot), and Kakashi had a fair amount to say on the matter as well. It had been bad luck which had placed him out of the village when Sasuke had defected before.

Letting out a small breath, Kakashi waited for the last of his team to confirm that they had all they needed for the mission before giving the order to leave. It wouldn't be a long mission this time, but it was politically sensitive.

Most ANBU missions were, which made it all the more imperative to leave no trace of their presence.

Once they left the outer wall of the village, Kakashi dropped to the back, signaling for Tenzou to take the lead. The transition went off without a hitch, and Kakashi was able to take a few brief seconds to check on Naruto's Hiraishin markers. He had placed them before, but these were Naruto's first batch in this time. It was always good to double-check.

Shinobi had been ruined by bad equipment.

Kakashi was not going to let Naruto be one of those shinobi.

Marker checked, Kakashi could put that fear to rest – at least for this particular one. The other markers were placed sporadically throughout the forests around Konohagakure and to the Land of Rivers, which had been where his last mission had been. Akatsuki had a hideout there at some point, so having a marker there was only good planning.

Today they were simply scouting the area in preparation for a trip the Daimyo's wife would be making. Another ANBU guard would be responsible for the trip itself, but Kakashi's team had to make sure that there were no traps and to be sure that nothing untoward would happen.

It was utterly useless, since excellent assassins would know such preparations would occur and would wait in hiding for the actual day. But politics were politics.

At least Kakashi was getting paid, and the mission didn't take all that long. He was back in Konohagakure by the early afternoon and able to take his mask off and relax.

He wanted to check on Naruto, but it wasn't safe for that. He could request to be put on Naruto's guard roster, but it would raise eyebrows since it hadn't been all that long since the last time.

Of course, Kakashi could just do it anyway. At some point he would need to just go for it and do things differently. Like request more missions on Naruto's guard. It would make it easier for him if he was able to keep a closer eye on Naruto and really be sure that he was okay. Or not okay.

Because yesterday…

Kakashi didn't know what he could have done if he had been on the guard when the entire thing happened. Probably absolutely nothing because ANBU didn't interfere in small disputes like that, but it might have helped Naruto to know that Kakashi was close.

And it bothered him that he hadn't known about Sasuke when it happened. Naruto had seemed a little down, but he hadn't been willing to talk about it. Not that Kakashi had asked.

Naruto was an adult. He could decide when to talk about something if it was bothering him.

Yet… Kakashi hadn't _known_.

Sighing, Kakashi settled down by a tree that wasn't too far off from the path leading up to the more official sections of Konohagakure. There was nothing he could do about it now except to make a resolution to pay better attention in the future. Naruto deserved that much.

Mind made up, he pulled out one of the books he'd gotten from the store, flipping it open to the first page and starting to read.

It was instantly apparent that this writing wasn't up to par with Jiraiya's. Granted, Jiraiya's writing was difficult to match, so Kakashi wasn't _too_ disappointed.

That said, the plot was a lot more boring as well.

Still, Kakashi had bought the book, so he was going to read it. It would make walking around with his nose in the book a lot easier, too.

When he heard Gai approaching, Kakashi didn't move beyond turning another page. It was getting slightly more interesting now with the heroine trying to deny her desperate love for the hero but succumbing to the physical passion between them.

There was still no swooning.

"Oh?" Gai stopped before him, hands on his hips as he leaned forward at a right angle, feet stuck to the ground. "What's this you're reading, Kakashi?"

In lieu of a verbal answer, Kakashi shifted his knees just enough so Gai could read the cover.

"'Tender is the Storm,'" Gai read, sounding slightly bemused. "Not quite your usual reading material."

Oh, Gai had _no_ idea.

"Isn't it?" Kakashi answered vaguely, not looking up from the passage he was reading. The sex wasn't quite what he was used to either. Less heaving bosoms and more focus on the male anatomy. He wasn't entirely sure penises worked like that? And who used the word 'turgid'?

"I see what you're doing!" With a vigorous fist pump, Gai threw himself down on the ground besides Kakashi, legs stretched out before him. "Well, rival, I won't have it!"

Kakashi glanced askance at him. "Huh?"

"That!" Gai pointed a finger in Kakashi's face. "Stop being so hip and cool!"

What?

Kakashi stared blankly at Gai and his finger for a long moment, silently wondering what was going on. When no answer was forthcoming, he decided to shrug it off and return to his reading.

There was some flailing from Gai, but no other words came so it couldn't have been that serious.

Not like the…sex currently happening.

Kakashi eyed the scene speculatively before turning the book over to look at the author. It was a woman. That probably explained a lot.

With a mental shrug, he flipped it back around and continued reading. It wasn't that bad. It was no Jiraiya, but then not many people could measure up to him.

There was a choking noise from Gai. When Kakashi looked, Gai's face was suspiciously red and he was deliberately not looking at Kakashi. Or, more specifically, Kakashi's book.

"You're reading that!" Gai proclaimed, voice rather thick.

"…Yes?"

Gai trembled furiously. "You are even more amazing than I thought, rival! Challenge accepted!" He flicked his fingers, then pointed them at Kakashi, almost jabbing him in the nose as he did. "I will do the same!"

Kakashi drew back, putting space between his face and Gai's finger. Then he registered what Gai had just said. " _What_?"

"I too shall find books of similar compare and read them until I can do so unflinchingly in public!"

Kakashi stared at Gai in mild horror, all thoughts of remaining aloof scattered to the wind.

This hadn't happened last time, had it? No, Kakashi would have remembered if it did. Gai reading romance novels in public was something Kakashi wasn't likely to forget.

"You don't need to do that," Kakashi eventually managed, voice rather faint. "This is…personal."

Gai shook his head. "I have decided, rival! It is an excellent skill you are cultivating! I'm dismayed I did not think of it myself!"

Kakashi almost wanted to ask what skill Gai was talking about, but that would be too revealing. So he settled for making a mental note to investigate later, opting to say, "Okay."

With a resolute nod, Gai set his face to one of fierce determination. It was a sight Kakashi was familiar with, and he had missed it. Only now he was dismayed to know that it was because Gai was planning on reading the same types of books Kakashi was.

God, what if Gai became known as the shinobi who always had his nose in a porn book?

Kakashi turned his gaze back to his book, but he wasn't reading a word. The thought was just too horrifying.

But Gai didn't instantly run off to go do what he had just set for himself. He settled back against the tree Kakashi had claimed, off to the side but close enough that their shoulders could brush if one of them moved.

After several minutes of staring at the page and wondering what he could do to fix this, Kakashi eventually decided that it would somehow sort itself out. And if it didn't, he could enlist Naruto to help.

Naruto had creative solutions to unorthodox situations.

Decision made, Kakashi let himself sink back into the book.

If he didn't compare the writing too much to Jiraiya's, the book was actually rather good. The sex was a little strange and not as funny as he was used to, but he supposed that was due to it being written by a woman. He had only read books by men before, which was his own fault. More exposure would make it normal, although Kakashi was definitely picking up _Icha Icha_ when the first book came out.

But the romance was there. And that had always been one of his favorite things about Jiraiya's books.

Kakashi was nearing the end of the book when Gai broke the silence, voice pensive. "You've been different, Kakashi."

Not looking up from the book, Kakashi kept his posture the same. "Hm?"

"Not a bad different," Gai said slowly, posture shifting in a blur of green out of the corner of Kakashi's eye. That he had deliberately set himself on Kakashi's left side had his chest squeezing painfully. "But just enough…"

Kakashi tilted his head to the side to see Gai gazing at him, eyes dark and serious.

"Is everything all right?" Gai asked, no sign of his usual cheer in his countenance.

Kakashi turned away, eye no longer on his book but on the grass. He had known something like this would be coming, but he hadn't expected it to be this soon.

That didn't mean he wasn't somewhat prepared.

Letting the book dangle from his fingers between his knees, Kakashi carefully measured his words as he spoke. "It's been five years."

Gai didn't say anything, but his presence was reassuring.

"Five years since Minato-sensei died," Kakashi continued after a moment, watching the grass fluttering in the breeze. "And every year, I do the same thing." Take so many missions he didn't have to think about being all that was left of his team. Take so many missions that he was too exhausted to do much more than drop into a dead sleep at the next opportunity. Take so many missions that maybe – just _maybe_ – the next mission would be the end. "Only this year…I realized he wouldn't have wanted me to live like this." He would have pulled Kakashi aside, ruffled his hair, smiled, and asked what he could do to help. Told Kakashi that his loved ones would want to see him _living_ , not trying to kill himself.

"He's five now, you know?" Kakashi said slowly, eyes closing.

Gai started a bit. "Kakashi, you know you're not supposed to talk to him."

"Ahh, he's protected, not to worry." Kakashi lifted his head, giving Gai a closed-eye smile. His friend might be able to tell if he was smiling regardless, but this was the easiest way to smile without _smiling_. And Gai didn't need to know that what he had said hurt.

A frown flickered over Gai's face, followed by a faint pang of what seemed to be guilt. He dipped his head in apology, eyes downcast.

Kakashi watched him for a few seconds more before turning away. "He's five," he repeated, gentle. "Time passes. I figured…I should start moving with it, too." He looked down at the book dangling from his fingers, tightening his grip and running his fingers over the pages.

The only sound was that of the rustling of the leaves and the grass murmuring. Gai's breathing seemed to blend in with the surroundings.

Eventually, Kakashi turned back to Gai, giving him a more genuine smile. "I don't think I ever thanked you, did I?"

Gai's eyes were wide. "Kakashi?"

It wasn't something Kakashi said lightly, but he remembered – he _remembered_ Gai hearing that only taijutsu worked against Madara. Remembered Gai opening all eight gates and glowing red with his own blood heating the air around him. Remembered the _sounds_ of Gai pummeling Madara to hell and back while everyone else retreated.

There'd been a moment where they had hoped that Gai had succeeded where the five Kage had failed. Because Madara hadn't returned to battling immediately afterwards, and so they'd believed that maybe Gai had managed it.

And Kakashi…Kakashi had mourned the loss of another friend. A _best_ friend. But it had been _fine_ because Gai had gone into it with both eyes wide open and knowing exactly what the price was. And he had succeeded, hadn't he?

Fuck, they'd all been so blind.

Slowly beginning the process of returning home to their respective villages, mourning the dead and healing the injured, and then Madara had struck.

Gai's sacrifice had been in vain, and Kakashi had lost another friend for nothing.

But Gai was here now, even if younger and no longer the Gai Kakashi remembered. Gai was here and _alive_. And he was still Kakashi's best friend. He was still the man who somehow managed to know when Kakashi was at his worst and tried to pull him out of it. He didn't always succeed, but he always tried again.

So Kakashi reached out, rested a hand on Gai's shoulder, and squeezed it gently as he said, "Thank you."

Gai stared at him like Kakashi had grown two heads, unmoving and shoulder stiff beneath Kakashi's hand. Then he exploded, leaping to his feet and flailing, cheeks red.

"R-r-right! Of course, my rival!" Gai flashed a shiny grin, shooting Kakashi a thumbs up across his chest. "What kind of eternal rival would I be if I wasn't there for you?"

Kakashi bit back his chuckle and resisted the urge to grin, watching Gai scratch the back of his head in embarrassment.

This was nice. Now, if only he could be reassured that Gai wasn't going to start taking after Kakashi and reading porn in public.

* * *

Later that day, Kakashi could be found – only if he wanted to be found – discreetly checking out where he remembered Danzou's Root base to be. Surprisingly, it was exactly where he remembered it to be.

He would have expected a shinobi of Danzou's caliber and paranoia to have moved it around.

Or maybe this was the public base? It was certainly possible that this was only the one Sarutobi was aware of. Root hadn't always been a secret from Sarutobi; it was only relatively recently that they had to go underground.

Musing on this possibility, Kakashi took the time to scout the base, never entering it but moving around the outside and investigating the entrances and the size of the base. It was large, but then most of it was underground, much like the bunkers for ANBU.

Unless Kakashi wanted to go rooting around inside, he would have to settle for watching the patrol routes and gathering information that way. He didn't have any jutsu that would let him infiltrate to that extent; that had always been a task relegated to Sai or a Yamanaka.

Carefully matching his pace with a Root patrol, Kakashi kept himself hidden as he followed after. They were dressed as ANBU, although their masks were blander and more uniform than the typical masks handed out to normal ANBU members. It would fool a civilian or even the average shinobi, but genuine ANBUs would know they were fakes.

Root being Root, they went about their business looking absolutely normal. The mission they did was also normal, a routine patrol of the village borders, so Kakashi let them go once they rerouted back to the Root base. Then he settled in to wait for the next few hours, gathering intel.

It was boring work, but it was necessary for what they needed to pull off. Kakashi was hoping to manage it in about a year. Naruto would have recovered some of his finer chakra control by then and could help with a distraction.

Furthermore, they would need the time to start some kind of routine so whatever distraction Naruto caused wouldn't seem too out of the ordinary.

These types of assassination missions were always messy. Kakashi disliked taking them, and this was a self-inflicted one. There was too much room for things to go wrong, especially if the target was Shimura Danzou. The man wasn't _just_ a shinobi; he was the leader of an entire shinobi force that was hidden within Konohagakure.

Fortunately, Kakashi wasn't just a regular shinobi either. Still, that didn't mean he could rest easy. His own paranoia would come in handy here, as would his skills in subterfuge.

Some hours later, Kakashi put distance between the Root base and himself before letting his presence make itself known. He had a fair amount of data gathered, which was a good starting point to compare against. He'd need to continue doing so at other times of the day, but fortunately shinobi schedules weren't exactly regular.

Root, with its strict adherence to rules, would likely be more regular than Kakashi's schedule. Although he would need to take the time to check that assumption.

Humming softly under his breath, Kakashi reached back into his bag to get his book, thumbing it open to the last page he had been on before beginning to read. The book might still have been new and unwilling to bend, but the action of reading and walking was comfortingly familiar.

As were the looks he received as he walked through the streets. Although most people seemed more inclined to stare in disbelief than scandalized outrage. Clearly this book didn't have the same reputation as _Icha Icha_. It was probably the lack of an age-restricted sign on the back of the book.

Kakashi sensed Tenzou coming a minute before the adolescent actually fell into step besides him. He didn't acknowledge Tenzou in any way beyond meandering over to the side of the streets, making it easier for the two of them to walk together.

"You're actually reading those?" Tenzou sounded incredulous.

Kakashi made a faint sound of agreement, turning a page. Then, "It's interesting."

"Is it."

Kakashi looked at Tenzou out of the corner of his eye, almost about to tease him when he remembered that he didn't quite yet have that kind of relationship with Tenzou. Mentally sighing, Kakashi returned his attention to reading, heart sore at the loss.

Teasing Tenzou had honestly been so enjoyable…

"You're reading it in _public_ , senpai," Tenzou groaned.

"It's perfectly fine reading material," Kakashi answered blandly.

"Not in _public_."

"Oh? How would you know that?"

Tenzou didn't meet Kakashi's eyes, refusing to answer.

Wait…had _Tenzou_ gone and read these books, too?

How many shinobi were going to start reading books just because they saw Kakashi do it?

If Naruto started, Kakashi was going to check for a genjutsu.

"You should have said," Kakashi said, unable to stop a hint of glee from creeping into his tone. "I could have recommended you some."

Tenzou squawked indignantly. "I-I'm not reading that – that _trash_!"

"Ahh, don't be so insulting… It's good to pass the time and relax," Kakashi said, waving the book back and forth in front of Tenzou's face, only to snatch it out of reach when Tenzou made a grab for it. "And it's funny," he added.

Tenzou's face was suspiciously red. "Those books are anything but _funny_."

"Hm…" Kakashi considered the book. "Maybe not that funny," he conceded. "I think it's the author." The sex scenes didn't have the same comedic flair as Jiraiya's…

"Senpai, they're _romance_ novels, not comedy. Why would they be funny?"

Kakashi paused, side-eyeing Tenzou. This wasn't a conversation he'd ever had with anyone before. Largely because by the time he had picked up _Icha Icha_ , his reputation was such that eccentricities like walking around with what was essentially porn were overlooked. Now he was nineteen again, his reputation impressive but not at the height of what it would eventually become, and clearly his choice of reading material wasn't scandalous enough to get people to not ask questions.

There was mild regret at not instantly going for the porn but starting with something tamer.

"Why not?" was what Kakashi eventually settled for. Clearly he and Tenzou didn't share the same kind of humor. That was fine. Tenzou was still his kouhai.

Tenzou stared blankly at him, unsatisfied with that answer.

Kakashi stared back.

Tenzou was the one to break first, turning away with a peeved exhale. He crossed his arms, shoulders hunched.

All too pleased with himself, Kakashi returned to reading, flicking a thumb over the dozen or so remaining pages he had left. He was looking forward to cracking open the other book. It was also by a woman, but a different one, so he was interested in seeing how the writing styles compared.

They were about five minutes out from Kakashi's apartment when Tenzou spoke again, voice subdued. "You've changed, Kakashi-senpai."

Rather than answer immediately, Kakashi finished the last page of the book, staying on it for longer than necessary while he mulled over his answer.

He hadn't been around Tenzou as often as Gai. He wasn't as close to Tenzou either, their relationship still more professional than friendly. Yet Tenzou was able to sense something wasn't right.

Either Kakashi was a shittier at undercover missions than he thought or Tenzou knew him better than he remembered.

"Have I?" Kakashi eventually settled on saying. "If it's the books—"

"It's not the books," Tenzou said testily. "Although they're definitely concerning," he muttered as an aside. Then, louder, "I'm not entirely sure what it is, but you're not the same. And I…" He noticeably hesitated, chin ducking.

Kakashi shut the book, tucking it inside the bag at his hip as he gave Tenzou his full attention. He'd been paying attention before, but now Tenzou could also be assured of that fact. "What?" he asked, keeping his tone gentle.

"I worry, senpai," Tenzou bit out, the words running together. "You were out for a week and now you're back, but you're not the same. So I can't help but think—"

"I'm not dying," Kakashi interrupted, barely managing to stifle the mild amusement he felt. He eyed the rest of the distance left to go until they reached his apartment. Deeming it too close, he stopped by the wall of another building, hands tucked in his pockets and right heel propped back against the structure.

"I know you're not dying!" Tenzou was frowning. "But thanks for reassuring me on that." He paused, then asked very seriously, "Would you tell me if you were?"

Kakashi had to think on that. "Er…yes?"

Tenzou was frowning even more now, his expression one that said he was making a mental note to never ask Kakashi in the future if he was dying because he knew he wouldn't get an accurate answer. Or maybe Kakashi was just projecting.

Sighing, Tenzou said, "You're not doing a very good job of reassuring me, senpai."

"My apologies," Kakashi said soberly. He reached out and patted Tenzou on the shoulder.

Tenzou eyed the hand like it would bite him. That was just insulting; Kakashi wasn't Deidara. "That doesn't help."

Kakashi retracted the arm, shrugging unapologetically. In retrospect, this behavior probably wasn't helping his case, but it was difficult to remember that around Tenzou.

"Is everything all right?" Tenzou asked after a moment, his dark eyes meeting Kakashi's. "I'm getting the sense that you're trying to prepare us for something – something big."

Kakashi dipped his head, not breaking the eye contact. "It's my responsibility to ensure you're taken care of," he said quietly.

"You do that." Tenzou's brow was furrowed. "You always have, senpai."

"Hm." Kakashi did break the eye contact now, looking up into the darkening sky. "If that were true," he murmured, "then why have I failed?"

"Failed?" Tenzou sounded confused. "Sen – Kakashi. If this is about what happened before, you didn't—"

"I see all the ways it could go wrong," Kakashi said, cutting him off. "All the ways I fail you." No way of knowing if Tenzou was dead or alive, but hoping – _hoping_ he was dead because to be alive was a fate worse than death. And the knowledge that he hadn't been able to protect Tenzou eating away at him. "Maybe it doesn't happen, but I see it. And in this world…peace is only as stable as our superiors want it to be. If another war starts…I want to be as certain as possible that I did everything I could to protect the ones I'm responsible for."

"I…" Tenzou closed his eyes, head dropping slightly. He was trembling, entire body vibrating minutely. "Thank you, Kakashi-senpai."

Kakashi startled. "Oh?"

"I know you don't like it when I call you that," Tenzou continued, eyes still closed, "but you'll always be my senpai. Because you might be a jerk sometimes—"

"Hey now."

"—but it's because you care about your teammates and friends that brought me here." Tenzou looked at him now, dark eyes wide and serious. "So, thank you." He bowed shallowly. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kakashi-senpai," he murmured.

Heart beating just a bit too fast to be normal, Kakashi could only watch as Tenzou walked away, back straight and every inch the professional shinobi. How did he…?

Shaking his head, Kakashi slumped back more heavily against the wall, shoulders drawing in. His throat was suspiciously tight, and his left eye stung heavily, clearly on the verge of watering. His right wasn't too far behind, and he rubbed it, trying to clear the mist that had formed.

How did he end up with friends like that? With Gai and Tenzou? What had he done to deserve their loyalty? To deserve _Naruto's_ loyalty?

Because it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that he had Gai and Tenzou even now, when Naruto was alone and without any of the friends he had made throughout his life.

But Kakashi couldn't help but be so damn grateful that they were there. That he could see that they had _always_ been there, even if he'd been too blind to realize it.

And Naruto…he was going to do his damn best to be there for Naruto. It was the least he owed his student after everything Naruto offered him.

* * *

 **All right, first, _Tender is the Storm_ is an actual romance novel title that I grabbed off the Internet. The cover page looked appropriate, too, so I borrowed it. I have not read the book, so I have no idea if it's bad or good. Only that I apologize to any readers who _have_ read the book and may be offended by my taking the title and using it here. Especially since Kakashi is not very impressed by it... *coughs***

 **Anyway! Kakashi-centric chapter! And he's got something planned which will be unveiled in the next chapter. I will reveal nothing other than to say I had a lot of fun writing that scene. So I hope you guys like it. And I hope you liked this chapter, too. Plot appeared last chapter, vaguely appears this chapter, and then disappears to be seen at a later point.**

 **I'm still in Europe, and it's likely I won't be posting anything for the next two weeks, so I hope you enjoy this happier chapter! I know nothing's really been resolved on Naruto's front, but Kakashi's there?**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm back from Europe! For the record, Switzerland is absolutely _gorgeous_. Although, holy moly, is it _expensive_. Still, definitely worth going there if you have the funds!**

 **I didn't get all that much writing done, but I did finally read _Pride & Prejudice_ and finish my German book. And on the side there was _some_ writing so Chapter 12 is done and I had far too much fun with one scene and then there's this chapter which I ALSO had far too much fun with. Can you tell where?**

 **Thank you so much for all the lovely feedback! I am so thrilled that so many of you are enjoying this story. I haven't had the time to respond to everyone yet, but I have read all your feedback and appreciate it so very much. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! I hope it was worth the wait.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

* * *

The thing with Kakashi was that he was a great shinobi – a total _badass_ and Naruto would be the first in line to beat anyone up who tried to insist otherwise – but he also had these tells whenever he was hiding something. Obviously these tells weren't screamingly obvious to people who didn't know him, but Naruto did.

Naruto knew him very well.

It wasn't even like Naruto could just ask him outright what was going on. When Kakashi got into these moods, he never answered questions properly, always sidestepping them or making stupid jokes. And on the really bad occasions puns. Kakashi's puns were _terrible_.

So Naruto knew something was up, but he had no idea what. He couldn't even badger Kakashi about it because they weren't supposed to know each other. Or, well, Naruto wasn't supposed to know Kakashi.

And Naruto was pretty sure that Kakashi didn't know that Naruto knew something was up. Or maybe he knew but he thought it didn't matter because he could hide it.

Which Kakashi was failing at because Naruto knew how to read him.

He was just a little shiftier than he normally was, not quite as willing to talk about what he had done over the day. He tended to eye Naruto speculatively when he thought Naruto wasn't looking, and he smelled like ink when Naruto stretched his senses. And when Kakashi thought Naruto was getting too nosy, he also tended to now summon his ninken and sic them on Naruto for "training." Naruto had never done so much running in a short period of time in his life. (This one, anyway.)

The training was getting results. It was also knocking Naruto out every night so he was sleeping. Which only left him to terrorize Konoha during the day with a series of escalating pranks.

Naruto hadn't seen Sasuke since the morning he'd left the Uchiha district. Or, well, he'd _seen_ Sasuke, but he hadn't talked to him. Sasuke sure hadn't seen him; Naruto had ducked out of the way before he could be spotted. It would've been easier if he could actually use his usual stealth tactics, but the ANBU were nosy.

Naruto had less luck avoiding Sakura, since her parents weren't shinobi. That said, Sakura hadn't tried reaching out to him because Naruto hadn't given her the opportunity. He didn't want to try and then have it shoved into his face like it would be.

Which all added up to Naruto being lonely and bored to tears. If the village didn't want him pranking, then they shouldn't have been isolating him.

He had Kurama, but the seal made it practically impossible for Kurama to talk to him like he had _before_. Now Naruto had to meditate and drop into his mind space for them to have a conversation, which wasn't something he could do in the middle of a street in broad daylight. And their relationship had never been the kind where they spent time together for hours.

Yeah, they were kind of stuck together until Naruto died, but it was a different kind of stuck together than Naruto making himself at home where Kurama stayed. Kurama would kick him out before Naruto could try.

There'd been a little progress made on the jinchuuriki front, although no one had yet been able to connect on the level required so they could meet each other at the subconscious level. Personally, Naruto was both excited and anxious as hell about meeting the others now. He'd only known B once the other was settled into his own skin. He'd seen Yugito and Fuu for about five minutes, and he'd met Gaara when he was homicidal.

Naruto loved Gaara, but he had been _scary_ when they first met. Five-year-old Gaara shouldn't be that scary, right? Shukaku hadn't done as much this time.

Sighing, Naruto pulled together the last things he would need for his latest prank. It wasn't up to the standards of painting the Hokage Mountain, but Naruto had time for that. Maybe. He still wasn't sure if he was going to go the prankster route this time in the Academy.

For his latest prank, he had gotten hold of a lot of glue. And he was sticking the glue in every container of soap he could find.

A lot of shopkeepers were going to be reeeaaalllyyyy unhappy by the time they figured out why their hands were sticky…

It was the sort of chaos Naruto loved. And it was less messy and incriminating than painting things.

Counting the glue to be sure he had everything he needed, Naruto started piling it into a bag so he could lug it around without looking like he was carrying a load of incriminating glue around.

"Huh," an unfamiliar voice said, "that's a lot of glue."

Naruto yelped, turning and throwing a bottle directly at the offender. The bottle missed the mark as the person tilted their head to the side in an oddly familiar move, sailing over the edge of the roof and landing somewhere in the street.

Shit, shit, _shit_.

"Don't move!" Naruto snapped, pointing a finger at the other boy's chest.

"Wasn't planning on it," was the cheery response, which was also freaking familiar but Naruto hadn't seen this boy before so _why_?

Two minutes later, Naruto had retrieved the glue bottle and was back on the roof, scowling as he inspected the boy who had so rudely interrupted him.

He was average looking so far as boys went, although there was a mole on the left side of his chin right under his mouth. His hair was a mousy brown and eyes a dark gray. There was nothing overtly familiar about his face except for the tilt of his eyebrows or sometimes even the slant of his mouth as the boy smirked at Naruto's obvious suspicion.

The boy also looked to be Naruto's age, but Naruto would have remembered seeing him around. Even so, Naruto had the odd suspicion that he _knew_ the boy.

"I'm Sukea," the boy offered when Naruto didn't say anything else, his lips twitching.

"Uh-huh," Naruto muttered, eyeing the so-called Sukea suspiciously. The name sounded familiar as well, but Naruto was rather bad at remembering names when he didn't particularly care about the people they were attached to. Then, rudely, "What are you doing up here?"

"I didn't know rooftops were private property," Sukea drawled, blinking lazily. That tone, the words, the manner of speaking… _even the mole_. It was driving Naruto crazy.

"There are other roofs," Naruto pointed out, squinting at Sukea.

Sukea tilted his head, eyes closing as he grinned. "But this is a good spot for my photography," he said cheerfully, uncaring of all the "go away" vibes Naruto was putting off.

Sukea was a big fat liar. There was no camera on him.

Naruto said as much, waving the bottle of glue he had retrieved earlier threateningly. "So what are you _really_ doing up here? If you're trying to get me to go somewhere so you and your friends can blame something on me that's not happening."

That got a reaction, although not the one Naruto had been going for. Sukea's smile slipped a little, eyes darkening dangerously.

"Nope," Sukea said after a stilted pause, cheerful smile back on. Only this time the smile was definitely fake. It was something about the eyes. "Just me. I suppose that happens often?" he added, seemingly as an afterthought.

Naruto didn't answer, eyes narrowing. Sukea didn't give off a chakra signature, which pegged him as a civilian. But that didn't explain why Naruto got the sense he should know him.

When it became clear Naruto wouldn't answer, Sukea sighed, shoulders slumping. He tucked his hands in his pockets, affecting a loose posture that pinged even more of Naruto's bells. "Ahh, so suspicious, are you? I just wanted to check out what you were doing with the glue. It seems rather nefarious."

"What kind of word is that for a kid to use?" Naruto blurted out unthinkingly. Shit, was this like Itachi again?

A grin flickered over Sukea's face, his eyes crinkling. "I read," was the cheerful response.

"Uh-huh." Naruto leaned in close, eyes narrowing as he inspected Sukea's face more closely. "And you do photo…graph…y…" His voice trailed off as he realized what was so familiar about Sukea.

That freaking _mole_.

Damn it, Kakashi.

"You," Naruto accused.

Sukea's grin was shit-eating. "Me," he agreed.

"What are you _doing_ —"

Sukea tilted his head to the side, eyes innocently wide. Shit, that was definitely Kakashi's "I'm totally innocent" face. Minus the mask and the hair. "I can't hang out with someone my age?"

"Bullshit," Naruto said before he could rethink it. He remembered now. Sukea had been the photographer that had hung out with Team 7 back before Sasuke had left, tagging along on their mission to unmask Kakashi. The mission had failed, but apparently Kakashi had been an enormous troll and _known exactly what they were doing_. He'd even _egged them on_. The bastard.

"My, such language!" Kakashi-as-Sukea teased, leaning down to take one glue bottle out of Naruto's bag. He waved it back and forth. "So, what were you planning on doing with these?"

"I don't think you want to know," Naruto answered slowly, trying to figure out Kakashi's angle.

"Is this scented?" Kakashi pulled the bottle away, making a face. Well, you weren't supposed to _sniff_ the damn things! "Why do you have scented glue?"

Naruto didn't answer, instead asking, "What are you _doing_? You shouldn't be here."

"Hmm." Kakashi looked up from the glue bottle, gray eyes dark. There was no sign of the Sharingan in the left eye, which made sense given this was some kind of henge. How he managed it without giving off a whiff of chakra was something else. Naruto had no idea his sensei had so much control back. "I didn't particularly feel like being alone today," he responded eventually, smile melancholy. "So when I saw someone else doing mischief…why shouldn't I join in?"

Blinking rapidly, Naruto found his sight misting up. And his nose getting stuffy. Also his throat was too thick for him to speak normally.

"I have another bag," Naruto managed eventually, rubbing at his eyes as he turned away. "Put the glue in there. I'll explain as we go."

"Okay!" Kakashi chirped, tossing the glue bottle back into Naruto's bag as he went for the second. "I hope it doesn't involve too much running. I can be delicate."

Ohh, how the hell did Kakashi manage to pretend to be a civilian with no chakra when this was a kage bunshin under a henge? When Naruto was still failing at reliably producing the three Academy jutsu? (Or two. He'd never managed the bunshin.)

How much training had Kakashi done to pull this off? Just to spend time with Naruto when no one would know?

When Naruto saw the real Kakashi next time, he was going to give him a big hug.

(The hug lasted all of five seconds before Kakashi managed to slip away. Not for the first time, Naruto cursed his short stature and inability to hug Kakashi properly and keep him in one. He settled for chasing after Kakashi and glomping him whenever possible. There were definitely not tears involved.)

* * *

Unfortunately, Kakashi-as-Sukea didn't happen as often as Naruto would have liked. For one thing, Kakashi's kage bunshin were nowhere near as resilient as Naruto's (at least when he had access to Kurama's chakra). For another, Kakashi needed his chakra whole when he went on his ANBU missions and not split in half.

Yet it was enough for Naruto. Sukea wasn't really _Kakashi_ , joking just a little too much and more mischievous than Naruto was accustomed to, but he was Kakashi in all the ways that mattered. He also wasn't Kakashi as he had been at five or six years old. Naruto had asked, but Kakashi had gotten a vague look in his eye that signaled nothing good so he'd dropped it.

Spending time like that with Sukea was great, though. Especially since Naruto was no longer alone in his pranks. He had someone to spend time with, even if that someone was his sensei in disguise.

It also meant more creativity, since Sukea had some wicked ideas. Naruto had no idea Kakashi could be so devious.

Like the ninja wire strung up at ankle level throughout the village. It wasn't exactly dangerous given that they tempered it and made sure it couldn't cut any limbs off, but it was really annoying for the civilians. Even the shinobi who weren't paying attention.

Naruto thought it was funny, but Sukea kept sighing and muttering under his breath about standards having gone downhill.

Naruto didn't bother pointing out that Kakashi's standards were really high. Kakashi would just ignore him and grouse about situational awareness and that it was important even at home.

Kakashi had a point, but then Naruto felt it was reasonable to point out that they weren't currently at war. It was the newer shinobi who generally missed the ninja wire; older shinobi around Kakashi's age tended to catch it, even cutting it in some cases while glancing around suspiciously.

In that case…yeah, Kakashi was right about newer shinobi needing to up their game. They'd been part of the largest casualties during the last war, minus the shinobi from Naruto's class. But even then most of them had…

Shaking his head, Naruto jumped across the gap between two roofs, landing lightly on the other and avoiding the Uchiha military police below. They'd been giving him even nastier looks than normal, shooing him away if he even so much went close to the Uchiha district.

It was nice to know where he stood, Naruto supposed. Although it was worse than _before_.

Coming to the other side of the roof, Naruto crouched, head tilted as he evaluated the street and what he could do to make the lives of its inhabitants that much brighter.

He hadn't been paying attention to sorting through the mass of chakra signatures that buzzed at the back of his head. Which meant it was his fault that he didn't notice Sasuke until he found himself meeting Sasuke's dark eyes.

Fugaku was with him, but he didn't seem to have noticed Naruto on the roof. He was too busy talking to two Uchiha who were part of the military police.

Sasuke's eyes were wide, a furrow between his brow that meant he was feeling vaguely guilty about something. Or worried. It could be either one with him and Naruto couldn't know without talking to him.

Which he wasn't going to do even though he really, _really_ wanted to.

Surprisingly enough, Sasuke took a hesitant step towards Naruto, mouth opening like he was going to call out.

But it was that moment Fugaku turned, saw Sasuke, and followed his gaze to where Naruto was frozen on the roof. His face darkened immediately, and he took hold of Sasuke's shoulder, dragging him away.

Aaannnddd that was all she wrote.

Naruto slumped, sprawling across the roof. If anyone asked, it was because he didn't want anyone on the street to see him. But honestly? He just didn't want to do it anymore.

Fuck, why did Kakashi have to be on a mission _today_? He could've at least left a ninken behind.

* * *

The last thing Naruto expected the next day was for Sasuke to somehow climb on the roof Naruto was on. Well, the climbing was fine. It was the fact that Sasuke was even there that had Naruto surprised.

Fugaku was nowhere in sight, and Sasuke was panting in a way that meant he'd exerted himself in some way.

But how did Sasuke know Naruto was on this particular roof? Had he gone around climbing roofs trying to find him?

It was a picture Naruto had to repress the urge to giggle about. This was a serious matter. No giggling allowed.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, blinking owlishly as Sasuke stood, determination writ in every inch of his tiny body.

"I'm sorry," was definitely not the first thing Naruto had expected Sasuke to say. Actually, he couldn't remember Sasuke ever apologizing before. He'd been under the impression Sasuke was allergic to verbal apologies.

Clearly that wasn't true at all.

"Uh," was Naruto's brilliant answer. Mentally shaking himself, Naruto tried again. "Why?"

This answer didn't seem to lighten Sasuke's mood. "We said we'd be shinobi together, didn't we?" he responded hotly. "Like – like a team, right? I've been a bad teammate. And – and a bad friend." His lips pinched, eyebrows furrowing.

"Oh," Naruto managed, stunned. "Um…it's okay, I guess?" It wasn't, really, but Sasuke didn't need to know that.

"No, it isn't," Sasuke insisted, coming closer. He ignored the backpack Naruto had lying by him, which was no easy feat given the large stick Naruto had stuck in it today. It also contained his food for the day, which was not ramen. Ramen was all well and good, but Naruto was trying to be healthy this time. Healthier.

"It wasn't your fault," Naruto said, giving Sasuke a small smile.

Sasuke shook his head."I could have tried harder. I just…" He looked down, face hard. "I should have tried," he repeated, shoulders hunching.

Naruto stood, stepping closer to Sasuke. It wasn't close enough to touch, but Naruto wasn't sure if Sasuke would want that. "It's okay," he said. "I told you before, didn't I? Parents don't really like me around their kids."

"That doesn't make it okay," Sasuke insisted. "Why – why aren't you angrier?"

Naruto wasn't sure if he wanted to say that he was used to it. It would probably only invite pity. Or make Sasuke angry. It was difficult to get a proper read on this Sasuke, different as he was from the Sasuke Naruto had known.

Eventually he just settled on a shrug and a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head.

This didn't seem to settle Sasuke. He looked, if it was possible, angrier at himself. "I don't care what they say," he said, meeting Naruto's eyes defiantly. "They don't know you, and they're stupid for thinking that you're dangerous."

"Hey, I could kill you with a kunai now," Naruto protested weakly. Not dangerous? Naruto was probably one of the most dangerous shinobi alive. Y'know, once he had his chakra control back in order. Right now he was about as threatening as a high-level genin.

"I know you wouldn't," Sasuke said steadily. "Besides, I'm the one who taught you, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Naruto muttered, ducking his head and rubbing the back of his neck. "You don't…really know me either," he eventually added, raising his eyes to meet Sasuke's.

"I know enough," Sasuke said stubbornly. "I know you better than they do." He frowned. "Why are you arguing about this?"

Naruto didn't actually have an answer for this. "I...uh…" He cleared his throat… "I don't want you to get in trouble with your family."

Sasuke stuck his chin out, eyes narrowing. "They don't need to know who I'm friends with," he answered coolly, but there was a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. Still, he barreled on, arms crossed over his chest. "Besides…big brother's going to help," he added.

Eh? _Itachi_ was going to help Sasuke meet up with Naruto? What planet was Naruto living on?

Well…it wasn't like Naruto really _knew_ Itachi, was it?

"That's…nice," Naruto managed. "But I don't think Itachi can hide you from all the Uchiha police around."

From the twitch in Sasuke's jaw, it was clear he hadn't thought about that. "They can't stop me," he said mulishly.

They probably could, but Naruto would let Sasuke have that. Besides, they could also report back to Sasuke's parents, and then where would they be? Up shit creek without a paddle.

"So you…really want to do this," Naruto said slowly, scarcely able to believe this.

"You said it," Sasuke said quietly, relaxing slightly. "We're going to be shinobi together, right? Teammates."

Naruto's heart squeezed painfully in his chest. He had never actually _said_ the word teammates, but _Sasuke had_. All Naruto had said was they'd be shinobi together, hoping that Team 7 would form again. But Sasuke had taken that statement and assumed that would mean they were _teammates_.

Damn it, Naruto was about to cry. He didn't want to cry in front of Sasuke.

"Are you crying?" Sasuke sounded vaguely horrified.

Shit, he was. Naruto frantically went to scrub at his eyes. "Shut up. I can cry if I want to, all right?"

"You're not sad, are you?" Sasuke sounded even more horrified at the notion.

"Do these look like sad tears to you?" Naruto shot back, giving the tears up for lost and laughing. "Damn it, Sasuke, I didn't – I didn't think you'd do this. No one else ever has."

Sasuke's cheeks pinked slightly. "Then they're idiots," he said bluntly.

No, apparently they weren't Sasuke, although even Naruto hadn't known about this tendency of Sasuke.

"Okay, then…" Naruto took several calming breaths, glad when the tears started drying. "Thanks, Sasuke."

"Hm." Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets, eyes skittering off to the side. "We can't train anymore," he admitted grudgingly. "It's too close to the compound."

"I know," Naruto said simply. "But…there's other stuff we could do?"

"Like?"

"Well…have you ever tried pranking?"

The look on Sasuke's face suggested that no, he had never actually tried pranking.

Naruto shrugged, pulling the long stick out of his bag and handing it over. "First time for everything, yeah?"

Sasuke took the stick like it might bite him. Considering the stick was about six feet long, it dwarfed Sasuke. The sight was kind of funny. "What were you going to do with this?"

Grinning, Naruto reached into his bag, avoided the containers filled with food that Sukea had helped him buy, and pulled out a load of string, several hooks, and a bottle of insects. They were mostly dead, although they would start twitching if he dug the hook in just right.

Sasuke stared at Naruto in grudging admiration. "Where were you going to do this?" he asked.

"Right here," Naruto said cheerfully. "You wanna do the honors?"

For someone who had never pranked before that Naruto could remember, Sasuke reached for the bottle of insects with a remarkable amount of eagerness.

And if they targeted the Uchiha military police more often than not, well, it certainly wasn't _entirely_ Naruto's idea.

* * *

Getting the four jinchuuriki on board regarding the bijuu took months longer than Naruto had initially expected. He'd probably been too hopeful; it was a failing of his that frequently tended to bite him in the ass.

That wasn't to say the bijuu weren't making progress at all. Gyuuki was on talking terms with B, although B was still too wary to fully trust Gyuuki. He hadn't yet gone through the full training regimen. Yugito talked with Matatabi as well, but less often and with a greater amount of wariness.

Fuu and Gaara were probably the closest to joining Naruto at the deeper level of the bijuu's subconscious. But even then, Fuu was too suspicious of Choumei to take everything she said at face value, and Gaara was wary given his earlier experiences with Shukaku.

So, when Naruto met with Kurama three months after the initial meeting they had on what to do with the jinchuuriki, he was rather surprised to see Kurama looking decidedly happier and less grumpy than he usually did.

"You're actually smiling," Naruto said slowly, squinting up at Kurama.

"I always smile," Kurama said.

"No, usually it's more like a snarl kind of thing? This is definitely a smile."

Kurama bared his teeth at Naruto, but the malice was missing. Naruto just grinned back, interlinking his fingers behind his head.

Huffing, Kurama withdrew from the bars until he was sitting upright. "I don't know why I bother."

"You love me," Naruto answered cheerfully.

"It's certainly _something_."

Laughing, Naruto stepped through the bars and stopped before Kurama. "We going or not?"

"Patience, Naruto," Kurama grumbled, but he pulled them in nevertheless.

The other bijuu were there as usual. There were also two small figures by Choumei and Shukaku.

Naruto blinked, looking again.

No, there were indeed two small figures by Choumei and Shukaku. One with green hair and the other with red, although Gaara didn't yet have the tattoo engraved in his forehead.

"Kurama?" Naruto whispered, hesitating.

Kurama laid down behind Naruto with a loud thump. "Mm-hmm. Go and do your thing, Naruto."

Naruto would have turned and shot Kurama a glare for being so damn _unhelpful_ but he was too busy staring at Fuu and Gaara – _Gaara, oh god_ – to do it. Because they were so damn _tiny_.

And they were looking at him like he was a complete stranger. Which…was true. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt in Gaara's case.

"Oi, brat!" Shukaku barked at Naruto when he didn't move. "You gonna stand there all day or are you going to greet Gaara?"

Naruto didn't run, although he probably would have before. He was keenly aware of how much larger he was than them right now. He didn't look like his physical age in this space, and he had no desire to begin doing so either.

Keeping his pace slow and his hands visible, Naruto approached Gaara and Fuu, stopping when he was several feet away. "Hi."

Fuu stared suspiciously at him.

Gaara was less wary. "Hi." His voice was softer than Naruto expected.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto said, smiling gently. "What're your names?"

"Gaara," Gaara volunteered first, glancing back at Shukaku. Shukaku just dipped his head

There was a low chitter from Choumei before Fuu spoke, voice as mistrustful as her face. "Fuu."

"Nice to meet you," Naruto said, still smiling. "Do you know what this place is?"

"A meeting place," Fuu answered, golden eyes narrowing slightly. "For the bijuu."

"For partners," Gaara added, again glancing at Shukaku.

"You're both right," Naruto said, eyes flicking up to Shukaku. He wouldn't have expected Shukaku to word it like that to Gaara. "This is the second level for the bijuu, where they can meet and talk. It's also where jinchuuriki who are partners with their bijuu can meet." He hesitated, then said slowly, "Do you know what a jinchuuriki is?"

"A monster," Fuu answered promptly.

Gaara looked at Fuu, confused. "Power…of human sacrifice?"

"We're not monsters," Naruto said, looking at Fuu, heart panging. Fuu wasn't even from a major village, and yet the prejudice was still there. "But yes. That's what the word means. To others, we're sacrifices. We're supposed to hold back the bijuu, be weapons they can use." B had spoken to him before about the expectations Kumo had for him and Yugito, even if Konoha had never treated Naruto as such thanks to the old man.

Gaara tilted his head. "Others?"

"I don't like thinking that way," Naruto said, smile broadening to a grin. "I prefer to think of it as partners. I'm Kurama's." He jabbed a thumb back in Kurama's direction.

Gaara's eyes were wide, but it was Fuu who said, "The Kyuubi."

"There's someone who knows respect," Kurama said, not opening his eyes.

"You know you love me," Naruto said without missing a beat.

Fuu and Gaara looked awestruck and disbelieving, eyes flicking between Kurama and Naruto.

"Partners?" Gaara whispered, half-turning to Shukaku, a trembling smile on his face.

Shukaku looked as shame-faced as a large bijuu could. "S'what I said, isn't it?"

There were grins on the other bijuu's faces, even though some of them didn't exactly have the facial muscles necessary. Yet Choumei was somehow grinning and Naruto could tell.

There was an amused snort from Kurama, but he didn't otherwise react beyond saying, "Twenty-two years and counting. Not like you and the big raccoon over there."

"Oi!" Shukaku protested. "Not like I've had that much time with the twerp!"

"Twenty-two years," Fuu repeated. "That's a long time."

"Son Goku has been with his for longer," Naruto said.

"Not partners yet, though," Son Goku said. He lowered his head slightly, eyes on the two children. "What about you two? What's your choice?"

Fuu folded her arms over her chest, frowning. "I didn't want this."

"None of us wanted this," Choumei said calmly. "But this is the hand we have been dealt."

Gaara watched Shukaku for a long moment before turning to Naruto. "This is why they're scared of me?"

Naruto dipped his chin in a nod. "Yes."

"I hate it," Gaara whispered. "I hate being alone. It hurts so much." He reached up to grasp the cloth over his heart, face twisting.

Fuu didn't say anything, but her face was cast down, her shoulders stiff.

Naruto looked between the two, weariness sweeping over him, along with a soft warmth that kindled in his chest. He moved to sit, crossing his legs. "I was lonely, too," he said quietly. "It hurts, doesn't it? Not knowing why, but only knowing that something's wrong. And it just…you risk losing yourself." Naruto had been so very, very close to that before Iruka had stepped into his life, treating him no differently from any other student.

"Did it change for you?" Fuu asked.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded, smiling wistfully. "I found my precious people. The ones who stand by my side no matter what. They're what make me strong." He paused, then lowered his voice to say in a stage whisper, "Kurama's one of them, too."

"Fuck you, too," Kurama growled, getting flinches from Gaara and Fuu.

"He's a big softie," Naruto reassured them, grinning wickedly.

"I'll show you who's a softie—"

Gaara and Fuu looked considering but sad, Fuu frowning as she stared at her feet.

Naruto leaned forward. "Hey, d'you want to know something else?" He waited until they were both looking at him before giving them a warm grin. "You two are my precious people, too."

Gaara's mouth dropped open, but Fuu looked skeptical. "You don't even know us."

"I know enough to see that you have good hearts." Naruto reached out with both hands to tap just left to their sternums. "You're here, aren't you? And you're two people I care about because you're so brave."

"I don't feel brave," Gaara said.

"But you still do what you need to, don't you? Even though it hurts. That's bravery, Gaara."

Gaara paused, mulling over what Naruto had said. "I still don't feel brave," he said eventually, "but okay."

Naruto couldn't resist a fond grin. "That's all I can ask for, Gaara."

"Who _are_ you?" Fuu burst out, startling Naruto. "Why are you doing this for us?"

Blinking, Naruto said, "I'm Uzu—"

"Not your _name_ ," Fuu interrupted, stamping her foot and scowling furiously. "I mean _who are you_? What do you want from us? Why are we _here_?"

"Oh. Uh…" Naruto leaned back, pressing his hands against the ground right behind him. "I'm a jinchuuriki," he said eventually, eyes on the darkness above them. "I'm a shinobi. I'm a friend of the bijuu. I want to protect you – the other jinchuuriki – because there are people who want to hurt us because of who we hold. I want to make sure that this cycle is _broken_ because it isn't fair to us or those who follow us.

"And…you're here because I wanted to meet you. I wanted you to know that you're not alone even if it seems like it. That if you need something, I'm here." He spread his hands demonstratively.

"What village are you from?" Gaara asked. "You don't have a hitai-ate."

Naruto fought a reflexive wince, smile twitching at the edges. His hitai-ate had been in tatters at some point, and there was no way to replace such a frivolous thing. Not when materials needed to go to more important avenues. It would so happen that even his mental self had no hitai-ate.

He was of Konohagakure, but at some point he had only identified himself as _shinobi_. A shinobi of Konohagakure, but overall a shinobi who fought for the good of everyone. Village loyalties meant little in the face of one such as Zetsu.

"Konohagakure," Naruto responded quietly. "I'm a shinobi of Konohagakure. You're Sabaku no Gaara, aren't you?" His eyes flicked up to Shukaku. "Only Sunagakure was in possession of the Ichibi." He turned to Fuu. "And you—"

"Takigakure isn't a major village," Fuu said, sticking her chin out. "But that doesn't mean we can't kick ass."

Naruto's response was a grin. "Hell yeah! They have you, don't they?"

Fuu's cheeks darkened, and her lips twitched into a small smile. "Yeah," she agreed. "Even if…" Her eyes dropped, and her throat rippled as she swallowed.

Naruto's own smile slipped at the reminder that things weren't okay in Fuu's home village. Neither were they okay in Gaara's. His father was probably already sending assassins after him.

"I know I'm not close," Naruto said quietly. "But you know how to reach this place, yeah? And if you can't, then ask Choumei and Shukaku. They'll help you. And Kurama can reach me, so if you ever need me, ask him. He doesn't bite…much." He winked.

A giggle burst out from Gaara, shortly before he clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. Fuu looked amused, teeth glinting briefly before she wiped the grin away.

"Ah ha!" Naruto snapped his fingers, pointing at them. "Made you laugh!"

"Did not!" Fuu protested.

"Oh, what was that I just saw, then?"

"That wasn't a laugh!"

"Well, he definitely laughed!" Naruto pointed to Gaara.

"I…don't usually." Gaara looked amazed. "What is this?" He clasped a hand over his heart. "I feel…warm?"

Naruto's throat thickened, and he had to take a moment to clear it before speaking. "I…maybe I'm wrong, but you could be…happy?"

"Happy," Gaara repeated, voice wondering. "So…is that what it feels like? I'm… _happy_."

"What about this is making you happy?" Fuu asked, confused.

"You care about us," Gaara told Naruto, still sounding faintly wondering. "You said…we're your precious people."

Naruto nodded, unsure of how he would sound if he spoke.

"I think…" Gaara blinked, visibly swallowing. "Uncle Yashamaru is one of my precious people. And…can you be one of mine?" He reached a hand out, the limb trembling. "Would you…be my friend, Uzumaki-san?"

Naruto didn't hesitate before reaching out to clasp Gaara's tiny hand in his, grip gentle. "Yes, Gaara. Of course. It would be my honor." He smiled, eyes prickling. "And it's Naruto. Not Uzumaki-san. Just Naruto. Friends don't need stuffy titles like that."

There was a loud sniffle, and then Naruto found himself with an armful of Gaara, his old friend wrapping his skinny arms so tightly around Naruto's neck it was almost difficult to breathe. But he didn't want to make Gaara move, not when he was burying his face in Naruto's neck.

Tightening his left arm around Gaara, Naruto held his right out, raising an eyebrow at Fuu. He wasn't sure she'd accept, but the offer was there.

Fuu didn't jump into his arms, but she reached out to touch her fingertips to Naruto's, faint trembles running through her hand.

"I don't know yet," Fuu said quietly. "But I'm willing to give it a chance."

Naruto smiled at her, keeping his left arm tightly wound around Gaara. "That's all I ask."

Fuu's return smile was tremulous and shy, but it was _there_. And with Gaara clutching at him fiercely and the bijuu around him, Naruto had to call this endeavor a success.

* * *

As much as it was totally awesome, pranking wasn't the only thing Naruto did with Sasuke. He scaled his pranks down so they weren't as likely to get caught, but Sasuke wasn't as skilled as Naruto when it came to evading angry civilians/shinobi. Sasuke also didn't know how to _hide_.

He'd get better at it, but there wouldn't be a chance to get better if they got caught and the Uchiha stopped Sasuke from seeing Naruto. Itachi was a big help, but he was also only ten.

After a close call with some Uchiha which had led to Naruto tossing Sasuke into a trash can and leading the Uchiha in the other direction before Sasuke could protest, Naruto had to think of another solution to their problem.

One of the major tenets of hiding and staying low was to do things that no one else expected. And for five-year-old Naruto now, where was a place he could go to that no one would think of?

The answer was so simple that it made Naruto wince.

So after a brief discussion, Naruto and Sasuke began spending their time in the library. Naruto had hidden the request primarily under the guise of them reading ahead so they could kick the Academy's ass. That way Sasuke wouldn't be all pissy because Naruto didn't want to run from the Uchiha every time they got close to seeing Sasuke with him. (And he didn't want to toss Sasuke into another trash can. The novelty wore off fast once the stink became too much.)

Now, to be honest, Naruto had never actually set foot in the library before. Yeah, he'd known it was _there_ , in the same abstract notion that he'd known Konoha had bars and that Kakashi bought his books from the bookstore several streets down from his apartment, but he hadn't actually _known_.

Going into the library made it real. Picking up a book and reading it made it even realer.

Especially since Naruto hated reading with a fiery passion. Well, maybe not the reading bit, but the studying. Every time he picked up a textbook, the words seemed to go in through one ear and out the other.

It didn't matter that he knew a lot of this stuff already through practical experience. It just didn't make much sense when it was written down. Hell, even the explanation of what chakra was made little sense and Kakashi had explained it to him twice.

But this was going to be a great excuse for knowing stuff that he shouldn't, Naruto reminded himself. Because that was important. Once the Academy started, he could show a few more skills, but there needed to be valid explanations behind it.

And he didn't want to have Sasuke jealous of him. Or suspicious because Naruto was so much better than he should be. And if Sasuke didn't get suspicious, it would be Itachi.

So this was a _great_ idea. Even if it also really sucked.

That Sasuke couldn't stop smirking whenever he caught Naruto grimacing at a book didn't help. But aside from all that, Naruto had to admit it was working out great.

That said, he couldn't wait for the Academy to start.

* * *

It hadn't yet been a year since they landed back in the time, and since then Kakashi had gotten most of his chakra control back. Naruto was still struggling, but then he was also growing. It would probably be years until Naruto was back at the level he had been before.

Kakashi was fine with that. It would be nice if both of them were at their best shape now, but they had the time to take to make sure that they would be when things truly hit the fan.

For his own part, Kakashi had larger chakra reserves than he had last time. It was a pleasant side effect of so much training, although his spiritual and physical chakras were still wildly out of whack. They might never sync up again – probably wouldn't – but Kakashi hoped that they'd even out _slightly_.

Hopefully.

He'd deal with it if it didn't. It was getting to be second nature to rebalance his chakra for every single jutsu he performed. It was painful for the jutsu that he copied on the fly, since there was no way to estimate just how much chakra would be needed, but usually he got it right the second time around.

The worst that happened from his initial failures were some explosions. They worked wonderfully as distractions while he recovered and did the jutsu a second time.

Kakashi had also requested for more of his missions to be on Naruto's guard roster. Sarutobi hadn't done anything beyond puffing on his pipe, but the request had been granted. Kakashi had the sneaking feeling that Sarutobi was pleased about something, but he wasn't entirely sure.

As long as the objective was achieved…

It made it easier for him to send his kage bunshin out to spend time with Naruto. His alias as Sukea was convenient, although Kakashi would sadly be unable to use the same alias to mess with Team 7 or anyone else again. At least not as an adult.

Not that Sukea was needed as often given what Sasuke had ended up doing. That had been a complete surprise for Kakashi, albeit a pleasant one.

As it turned out, Sukea had also ended up meeting Sasuke. It had been an accident on his part, as he hadn't known that Sasuke would be meeting with Naruto that day. And once Sasuke had seen him, Sukea hadn't been able to leave, Sasuke insisting it was fine that he stay with them.

This potentially complicated things in the future, but Kakashi had already known that it may eventually come out that he'd spent time with Naruto under a henge.

In any case, he hoped that Sasuke's friendship with Naruto now would help. He knew little of how Sasuke had been before the massacre, but he hoped that this helped in some small way if they ended up failing.

Kakashi didn't plan on failing, but one never knew. He had a lot of information on Danzou and Root at this time, although he was still finalizing what he knew and piecing it together so that he had a relatively solid plan going in.

But that wasn't for months yet. Especially considering what he needed Naruto to do.

And so far, Kakashi hadn't been caught. There'd been no suspicion raised either. He was in ANBU for a reason, and he wasn't bragging when he acknowledged that he was _good_.

So he was, admittedly, just a little perturbed when Sarutobi summoned him to his office without any noticeable reason. There could be any numerous reasons for this, but usually his unexpected summons to the Hokage's office hadn't really ended _well_.

They sometimes tended to try to shove the hat onto him. Not that it was going to happen now. He was physically too young for one, and Sarutobi had never considered him for the position.

"Ah, Kakashi." Sarutobi's eyes crinkled in a small smile. "You're late."

Oh, was he? Kakashi shrugged loosely. "Well, I would've been on time, but there was a little old lady who needed help with her groceries, and I couldn't just let her be, could I?"

"Of course not," Sarutobi agreed, a slight note of bemusement in his tone.

It wasn't the first time Kakashi had used such an excuse. He'd slipped one or two times and been late over the last so many months, but it had been a good time to start using his favorite excuses. Gai had cried hysterically the first time he'd heard Kakashi's excuse about helping the elderly, shouting that his rival was "the coolest."

Upon hearing the black cat excuse, Tenzou had tilted his head and said entirely seriously that black cats should be watched. At the same time he'd put on a thousand yard stare that had made Kakashi seriously concerned about what kind of experience Tenzou had with black cats.

Still, it was the first time he'd been late to a meeting with Sarutobi. The Hokage was used to a Kakashi who was punctual.

Too bad. He got this one.

"Did you need something, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi prompted when Sarutobi didn't immediately continue.

Coughing slightly, Sarutobi set his pipe down and tapped it against the ash tray. "Yes, Kakashi. I wanted to inform you on Uzumaki Naruto's changing status."

Kakashi kept his stance casual. "Oh?"

"You've been on his guard quite frequently as of late," Sarutobi said, no recrimination in his tone. "ANBU's services will soon no longer be required."

Oh, it was _that_ conversation. Which…hadn't happened last time. At least not like this.

Kakashi drew in a breath through his nose, thought back to how he would have handled this at this age, and then tried to channel some of that indignation and grief. "Why, Hokage-sama? Naruto is in no way able to keep himself safe."

"Naruto will be joining the Academy in a few weeks," Sarutobi explained. "He will no longer be a simple civilian; he is a shinobi in training."

"He's joining?" Kakashi paused, letting his chin drop. "He's going to become a shinobi?"

"Yes." Sarutobi's voice was soft, no sign of pity in it. "He asked me several weeks after his birthday last year."

Kakashi closed his eye. "He's so young."

"You were his age when you graduated," Sarutobi pointed out.

"And I'm the perfect picture of mental health," Kakashi fired back unthinkingly. He added belatedly, "Sir."

Sarutobi chuckled. "Point taken, Kakashi. But the times of early graduation have passed. Unless young Naruto displays skills such as Itachi, he will remain in the Academy until the set graduation age."

Nodding, Kakashi waited for what else Sarutobi had to say.

Several puffs of his pipe later, Sarutobi continued, "I asked him why he wanted to become a shinobi. Most young children at that age have little idea what it means, even those from clans. Naruto…" Sarutobi's gaze turned to the previous Hokages' pictures on the walls. "He said he wanted to be strong. He said he wanted the village to see him." His voice was weary.

Kakashi was silent for a moment. "I see." The words were quiet. "I'm not surprised."

"No?" Sarutobi's smile was as tired as his voice had been. "Perhaps not unexpected given how much time you've spent with him as of late. I admit I was surprised when you requested to be placed on his guard more frequently. You had never requested such a thing before."

Kakashi shifted, acting uncomfortable. "Ahh…well…he's sensei's son," he said eventually. It was all the explanation he was willing to give to Sarutobi.

It was enough for Sarutobi. "I know it has been difficult, Kakashi. I wanted to personally let you know that Naruto would no longer be requiring ANBU's services."

That Kakashi would no longer be allowed near Naruto under such an official guise. He bowed his head, allowing nothing to show in his voice. "Of course, Hokage-sama."

"Hm." Sarutobi blew out a ring of smoke. "Dismissed, Kakashi."

Kakashi let himself out the usual way, exhaling slowly once out of the office.

What Sarutobi didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Especially in this case.

Once upon a time Kakashi had been willing to do what Sarutobi said, going even further himself. He was no longer that young man. And Naruto was no longer that helpless child.

Outside of the building, Kakashi turned his face up to the cloudy sky. It wouldn't be all that much longer before they moved ahead with the first step of the plan.

Things had already changed drastically from before. After this…who knew where they would stand?

* * *

 **Covered quite a bit of time in this chapter! It was about time that we get ahead a bit to when Naruto joins the Academy, and this was the time to do it. Also now you know what Kakashi was plotting at the end of last chapter. :P**

 **We have ever so slowly been getting to the good stuff, and this chapter is really going to start kicking things off. I mean, things aren't exactly going to be moving _fast_ , but there will be more things happening now.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it! I hope to have the next chapter finished in a timely manner, if only I can figure out what to do for it.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I know you guys are _really_ eager to see Danzou get his comeuppance, and I _promise_ that's coming soon - very soon. This chapter has something else! More character interactions! Feels! So many feels! (I like to think so, anyway.) Guilt! (Thanks, Kakashi.) And some plot progression on a certain point.**

 **So, back in Chapter 1, I said that one character's asexual, right? Most of you have guessed by now that character's Kakashi. However, while writing this story, I realized that there's another character I also read as being on the ace-spectrum. I'll let you figure out who that is. It should be pretty obvious. (I might do a little too much introspection but it's fun and also _angst_.)**

 **Thanks so much for all the continued feedback! :D I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

* * *

Naruto couldn't remember having been this nervous last time. Or maybe he had been but he'd blotted it out because nerves sucked.

Right now he was a mixture of nervous and excited that made sitting still difficult. It was just as well that the first day of the Academy didn't actually require one to sit. He could stand and bounce around all he wanted.

Sasuke was here, too, although Naruto was keeping some distance between them. He could still see Sasuke if he looked over, and his grumpy-faced father as well. Fugaku hadn't even glanced in Naruto's direction, and he seemed anything but pleased to be here.

Which was strange, since just about every other parent Naruto could see all looked happy and proud of their children.

It highlighted his own loss all the more, although Naruto had to remind himself that he wasn't actually a child and he knew exactly how proud his parents were. But however sweet the reminder was, it was no replacement for the actual physical presence of his parents.

Even Sasuke's parents would be kind of nice to have… It was a wistful thought, which lasted until the next time Naruto caught sight of Fugaku's face and wondered just _what_ had decided to rest up the other man's ass.

Maybe the same thing that had stuck up Sasuke's once upon a time?

Now Mikoto. _There_ was someone who Naruto would like to get to know more.

Itachi was a great shinobi and did a really good job at helping Sasuke hide his friendship with Naruto, but he couldn't hide _everything_. At some point Mikoto had wised up to what Sasuke was doing on his days out of the house and started sending him off with food for two. She'd never said anything to Sasuke or Itachi, but it was clear enough that she knew and was fine with it.

Naruto's mom really did have awesome taste in friends.

Although Mikoto had relatively awful taste in men. Maybe there was something about Fugaku that Naruto hadn't seen yet? It was just…the guy could do a better job of being happy at Sasuke's first day at the Academy.

From what Sasuke had told him yesterday evening, Fugaku hadn't even wanted to go. It had been Itachi tricking him that resulted in Fugaku being here, since Fugaku didn't want Itachi skipping the important mission he was on.

The mission that would induct Itachi into ANBU. Kakashi had seemed mildly worried about it over the last few weeks, even if he hadn't said as much. There was a lot of history between Itachi and Kakashi, but Naruto was sure Kakashi could handle it.

Kakashi had handled Bushier Brows and Yamato well enough. Even if Naruto had seen Bushier Brows and Yamato coming out of the bookstore with some suspicious books. Kakashi had looked vaguely panicked when Naruto asked him about it and then refused to answer so Naruto still didn't have an answer as to why Bushier Brows was walking around Konoha blushing furiously while reading the books he'd bought.

Judging from Bushier Brows's shouts that he was going to someday manage it and be as cool as his rival, it was probably a challenge.

A challenge he was apparently failing.

Anyway, Kakashi had Itachi handled. Naruto had told him as much two days ago, only to be annoyed by Kakashi ruffling his hair and telling him to pay attention to his chakra control so he would stop summoning tadpoles.

Which…Naruto didn't need to be reminded about because he was _still stuck with summoning tadpoles_.

His less delicate jutsu were sort of back in his arsenal. If he didn't mind burning the insides of his mouth or drowning himself in a flood of water. It was definitely an option in the worst case scenario, although not one he'd do willingly.

Rasengan and its more advanced versions were completely out of the ballgame for now. Kakashi could manage the regular version, but he couldn't copy the Rasenshuriken with his Sharingan. And he didn't have the chakra to manage it either.

So while Kakashi was doing well enough, Naruto was probably as dangerous as a genin now. Maybe chuunin if his taijutsu was back up to snuff. Or if one of his jutsu backfired in a good way. (It could _happen_. If he just…aimed it the right way.)

On the plus side, Naruto's friendship with Sasuke was going swimmingly. Even if they spent a lot of their time in the library, looking through shinobi books. Sasuke had taken Naruto's suggestion on being ahead in the Academy to heart and kept making sure Naruto actually did his reading.

Which…worked out so long as Naruto was vaguely aware of what they were studying. Sasuke had given up on Naruto being able to spew back exactly what was in the books, settling for the bastardized version Naruto managed to come up with, since the books made no freaking sense.

Yeah, Naruto _knew_ the stuff. It didn't mean the books made any sense. Somehow, even basic chakra theory that Kakashi had explained to him turned into gibberish when he read it in a book. It sucked, but then Naruto had known he was never going to be a book-smart shinobi. He'd leave that to Sakura.

Outside of the library, Sasuke had taken well to pranking. He didn't have much creativity when it came to coming up with ideas, but he was gung-ho for implementing them and even spicing it up a little. It had been his idea to add a few live insects during one of their "fishing" pranks, and to add some traps to the usual wire tricks Naruto and Sukea had done.

Sasuke also got along really well with Sukea on the days that Sukea was there. It wasn't entirely surprising given that Sukea was Kakashi in disguise and Kakashi and Sasuke had gotten along well when Sasuke wasn't out for revenge. Sasuke had even asked Sukea if he would be joining the Academy as well; Sukea had claimed he was looking forward to a lazy life as a merchant and didn't want to abandon it to be a shinobi.

Sukea being Sukea, the statement had been blandly delivered with a matter-of-fact expression, so Sasuke hadn't pressed for more beyond making a face because "really? He wanted to be a _merchant_?"

Naruto couldn't really defend Sukea because yeah, that did sound pretty boring. Not at all like being a shinobi.

On that train of thought, Naruto looked around for Sakura, seeing if he could locate her. She was supposed to be here, too. Especially if he hadn't messed anything up when he'd reached out to her all those months ago.

He didn't see her pink hair, but he saw Shikamaru, who was already wearing his hair tied back at this age. Chouji wasn't too far off, hanging close by his dad.

And when Naruto turned, he saw Hinata, head ducked and hands twisting at the cloth of her robes. Her father stood at her back, face blank and frowning slightly.

Naruto paused, eyes lingering on her small form. He hadn't known her this far back. He hadn't even known she was around. Would she still attach herself to him now? He wasn't the same person as the one she'd admired, the one she claimed to have fallen in love with.

That declaration of love was one Naruto could clearly remember even now when he looked at Hinata. He'd never forget it, but he didn't have more idea what to do with it now than he had _before_. Thankfully, that question was out of his hands.

Maybe, in another lifetime, he could have tried to see what could have come from a relationship with Hinata. That chance had been taken from him.

As had Hinata's own chance at some kind of happiness. She had still been alive at the end, but what kind of life had that been? She'd sought Naruto out a few times, wanting comfort, but Naruto hadn't been able to offer much aside from pretty words and hugs.

She'd probably wanted something else, but Naruto hadn't known how to give her that. It hadn't been until he registered just how strangely Sakura was looking at him that he even realized he'd goofed up.

It wasn't that he didn't _want_ sex (it felt nice, okay?). Or find Hinata cute. But he'd just…not put two and two together? That sex could be used like that? And that _Hinata_ wanted _sex_.

It was always so incredibly boring when ero-sennin wrote about it. He couldn't figure out what Kakashi found so interesting in those books, and Kakashi had never explained it either. So Naruto had never gotten more than ten pages into ero-sennin's _Icha Icha_ series, even though ero-sennin had tried to get him to edit his latest work.

Sex was just… It was still kind of weird for him to think about it like that. Yeah, people's bodies were nice to look at. Hinata had been beautiful, but then so had Sakura. Naruto hadn't exactly put two and two together to realize that meant he should want to get into bed with them.

If someone offered and he was in the mood for it, Naruto wouldn't exactly say no, but there hadn't been a lot of that happening towards the end. At least not for him. He couldn't say the same for some others, since privacy was hard to get in close quarters.

At least…now Hinata had that chance she hadn't had before. Maybe this time she'd fall in love with someone else. If she'd even been in love with _him_.

What had she known about him in the end? Naruto hadn't ever spent that much time with her. It was easy enough to admire and fall in "love" with a picture. He'd done it with Sakura, and it hadn't been until much later that he'd let go of that picture to love Sakura as his family.

They all had that chance now.

Turning away from Hinata, Naruto noticed Ino tugging at her father's hand as she pointed to the Academy building, mouth moving rapidly as she spoke. Kiba sans Akamaru was by the playground with an older girl who must have been his sister and his mother. Shino was quiet and hidden in the shadows with two people who could only have been his parents.

There were others that he wasn't as familiar with. Who must have not made the cut after the graduation exam, remaining career genin or going into other lines of work that weren't so heavily focused on combat.

Some looked a little like Uchiha, hair and eyes dark. Naruto spent a moment longer studying them since he didn't remember them from _before_. If the massacre was stopped this time, there'd be no reason for them to die and never graduate.

It complicated things, like if Team 7 would ever form, but Naruto had to have faith. They'd all graduate – he knew that – so it'd work out.

His ANBU guard was finally gone. Naruto was going to kind of miss their presence, but for the most part it was a relief. It would make sneaking around infinitely easier, and he could probably spend more time at Kakashi's place.

He had his henge down pretty solidly by this point.

Yet Kakashi was around, lingering at the sides. Naruto couldn't see him, but that made sense since he wasn't supposed to be here at all.

Still, the thought was nice, warming him from the inside out.

Turning on his heel, Naruto looked back to where Sasuke and Fugaku were. Someone was speaking to Fugaku; Naruto didn't recognize the guy, but he seemed vaguely familiar so he must have been a teacher.

Sidling closer, Naruto was able to pick up on what was being said to put that pinched expression on Sasuke's face.

"If he's anything like his brother, then he'll do excellently," the man was saying to Fugaku. "Uchiha Itachi was an unparalleled genius; I haven't ever seen his like before. Youngest to graduate the Academy, wasn't he?" He looked down at Sasuke. "I suppose it's too much to hope for that he'll be like his brother, eh?"

Fugaku wasn't saying anything in Sasuke's defense, simply nodding along. Sasuke looked vaguely stricken, like he'd been punched in the stomach.

It made Naruto's chest hurt because that wasn't cool. Itachi was Itachi, and Sasuke was going to be a _brilliant_ shinobi, but he wasn't ever going to be like his brother. He was too straightforward for that, and he hadn't really bloomed until later.

Just like Naruto wasn't his father or his mother, no matter what traits he'd inherited from them.

Not to mention the guy was just plain _wrong_.

"Actually," Naruto said before Fugaku or the idiotic teacher could say another word, "Uchiha Itachi wasn't the youngest to graduate. That was Hatake Kakashi. He was five, wasn't he? Itachi was seven. And maybe I'm not the best at math, but I'm pretty sure seven is more than five."

Fugaku looked a bit like he'd just swallowed a lemon. Sasuke looked a combination of upset and disbelieving, almost like he wanted to rush to Itachi's defense but couldn't figure out how. As for the teacher…the teacher was staring at Naruto like he was a bug under a microscope.

"You were not a part of this conversation," the teacher said.

"Oh, my bad," Naruto said cheerfully. "It's not like you guys were in a private room or anything, yeah?"

"What are you doing here?" the teacher said, eyes narrowing.

"First day of the Academy, isn't it?" Naruto flicked a thumb back in the direction of the welcome sign. "I'm gonna be a shinobi, ya know!" He snapped his fingers and pointed at the teacher, winking. "The best one ever! And I don't have to graduate early to do it!"

Sasuke seemed like he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it down when Fugaku glanced at him. He hadn't stopped staring at Naruto, though.

Naruto stared back, eyebrows raised. He didn't really care what Fugaku thought. It wasn't fair to have Sasuke compared to Itachi.

"I see," the teacher managed a moment later, sounding unhappy with the idea of Naruto as a student.

"I'm sure, sensei," Naruto said, grin sharpening slightly as he used the title. "I guess your classes will be interesting, huh? Keep on us our toes if it's history!" He thumbed his nose, gave the blinking teacher another sharp grin and then slipped away into the crowd.

Sasuke was probably going to refuse to talk to him for a while after this, but it was definitely worth the slack-mouthed expression on the teacher's face. The man clearly hadn't known whether Naruto was insulting or complimenting him.

* * *

The next day saw Naruto at the Academy again, this time for actual classes. Kakashi had left in the late afternoon yesterday for an ANBU mission, so Naruto hadn't been able to take advantage of his lack of ANBU guard beyond going to train by himself and several dozen kage bunshin.

He hadn't seen Sasuke either, which Naruto had totally expected.

He also half-expected the punch to the shoulder when Sasuke sat next to him for their first class.

"What was that yesterday?" Sasuke hissed, leaning in close. "Father's suspicious now!"

"He won't catch us," Naruto said idly, folding his arms on the table and dropping his chin on them. "Besides we're in the Academy now. He can't stop you from talking to me here."

Sasuke scowled, mouth twisting. "Screw that," he muttered. "It still doesn't make any sense."

Naruto shrugged lightly. He'd already mentioned numerous times before that adults didn't like him, and Sasuke had seen the evidence himself. It certainly had made for an amusing sight to see a tiny Sasuke scowling at the guilty parties whenever he saw them.

"Besides," Sasuke said quietly, eyes on the desk, "it wasn't like he was wrong, was he? I'm not as good as my big brother."

"Because you're Sasuke," Naruto said, eyes on the door to make sure their teacher wasn't going to come in. "You're not supposed to be a second Itachi. It'd be creepy and I'd miss my best friend because Itachi doesn't do pranks with me."

"I'm supposed to be _better_ ," Sasuke insisted.

"Then be better. Even Itachi wasn't always great, right? I mean, he wasn't, was he? Because that would be weird, too. Or was he born with a shuriken in his hand or something?"

The punch to his shoulder this time was much lighter. "Stop being weird. You know he wasn't."

Naruto faked a relieved sigh. "Well, you never know, do you? There are some weird shinobi out there."

Weirder shinobi than Naruto had known about _before_. That was one interesting thing that he had remembered from their constant reading.

Their teacher entered the room at that point, calling for the class to settle down and pay attention.

As the room quieted and everyone settled in their seats, Naruto caught sight of pink hair on the other side of the room.

The sight was possibly more relieving than it should have been.

Up until class actually started and Naruto realized exactly how boring this was. No wonder Shikamaru was already snoozing in his seat.

Naruto was going to join him any second now.

* * *

"My name is Uchiha Itachi. Please take care of me."

Tenzou was first to greet Itachi, clapping him companionably on the shoulder and introducing him to the others.

Kakashi hung back slightly, head tilted to the side as he inspected Itachi. It had been a long while since he had last been so close to Itachi. And it hadn't even really been _Itachi_ at that time, simply a jutsu sacrificing another man so Itachi could buy time for the extraction of the Ichibi.

He'd grown used to thinking of Itachi as the terrifying young man he'd grown into, that shinobi who had participated in the massacre of the Uchiha clan. This child wasn't yet the Itachi Kakashi had faced off against, but the makings were there.

And if Kakashi had anything to say about it, Itachi wouldn't have to leave Konoha and join the Akatsuki. It would mean a great deal if they could keep Itachi in the village, not roaming about as an S-class nukenin.

"That's Hatake Kakashi," Tenzou was telling Itachi, gesturing in Kakashi's direction. "He's our captain."

"Good to have you, Itachi," Kakashi said, dipping his head. "If you're ready, we'll head out to do some team training."

"Ugh, fuck, again?" Rat groaned. Eiji had gotten a bit too used to occasionally voicing his complaints. His teammates were wise enough to suffer in silence.

"For that you can be the guinea pig," Kakashi said without missing a beat, not even looking at the man.

"Guinea pig for what? We're always guinea pigs!"

"Itachi, of course." Kakashi gave Itachi a beaming smile, closing his open eye so it couldn't be mistaken for anything else. "Let's go." He bit back the "ducklings" comment at the last moment. He'd gone a long way to changing his stone-cold reputation, but not to the point where he could yet get away with a comment like that.

Itachi seemed just a little confused, but he followed along dutifully, mask on.

Then, once they reached the training ground, Kakashi did as promised and stuck Itachi with Rat for a rousing game of hide-and-seek, the two of them hiding from everyone else.

His team had improved greatly when it came to the wonderful art of stealth, so Kakashi was interested to see how Itachi's skills measured up even now, sticking a kage bunshin on the two so he could evaluate them later.

Eiji did a good job of helping Itachi out, laying false trails and in general obscuring their tracks to make it more difficult. That said, Itachi's skills were nothing to sniff at either, already at the level of the average ANBU.

"Good job, you two," Kakashi said once Tenzou had hauled them out of their hiding place.

"You found us," Itachi said slowly. "Was the point not to successfully hide?"

"You don't hide from Hound," Eiji told him mournfully. "You only delay the inevitable."

Kakashi frowned. "Stop making me sound like some kind of disease."

"Would you prefer a dog, taichou?"

Ignoring the comeback, Kakashi turned to Itachi. "You did well," he repeated. "You're about as good as they were back when we started these exercises. Now, we're going to move onto fighting. Hide again with Rat; he'll explain the drill."

Kakashi counted down from ten once the two were gone in a blur of black. After he reached zero, he gave the signal to disperse, hanging back to let his team track the two down.

Once it was clear that they were discovered, Itachi was the first to spring out and attack, hands flying through a series of seals that Kakashi recognized as one for a fire jutsu. He could have countered with a water one, but that wouldn't let him see how his team handled this.

One blazing fire jutsu later, Kakashi was left alone in the trees, crouched on a branch as he let his senses flick over each one of his team members.

It was a drill they had run multiple times before, pitting teamwork against a more powerful enemy. There'd been reluctance initially when Kakashi introduced it, none of them entirely willing to fight as a team against him alone. They hadn't wanted to hurt him, which was a serious risk considering they were all ANBU and had been told to take him seriously or they'd lose.

As it was, they'd learned quickly enough that they didn't have to worry. Without the Sharingan, Kakashi would likely have worried. With it?

It was an even match.

Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate up in time to dodge the fire jutsu aimed his way, spinning through the weapons hidden in the flames. He snagged several out of the air, flipping them around and sending them back the way they came, unsheathing his tantou with his other hand.

And with a clang of metal against metal, the fight was on.

It was more furious than usual, Itachi's presence adding another dimension to it. Genjutsu frequently overlaid the field, only to dissipate into crows when Kakashi dispelled them. They were subtle, but Kakashi had gone up against a madman with a highly advanced Mangekyou Sharingan for years and was keenly aware of how to combat them.

That, and he'd been training with Gai on and off, discreetly borrowing tips from him as to how to best fight a Sharingan user. Not that Gai was aware. He just really enjoyed fighting Kakashi when he was using his Sharingan, rare as the occasion was nowadays.

A crackle of a lightning jutsu later, and Kakashi demolished the wooden branches Tenzou had called up, disintegrating them into splinters. He darted past Tenzou, hand whipping out fast enough with a kunai to hit against Tenzou's head, knocking him out cold.

Even one down, his team rallied, working well together with Itachi despite only having met him today.

By the time Kakashi called the drill to an end, all but one of his team had been knocked out, and Itachi had tactically retreated to a safe point.

"Excellent job all of you," Kakashi told them once they were awake and groaning. "It isn't easy working with a new team member straight off the bat."

There was a silence that strongly suggested his team wanted to say something but decided they shouldn't. Smart people.

"Now, since we've all gotten the chance to know each other a little better," Kakashi continued, ignoring the snort Tenzou gave, "I think it's time we tell our newest team member a little about how our team works."

Itachi held still, absolutely no sign of life in his body aside from the subtle rising and sinking of his chest. It was clear he didn't know what Kakashi meant, having been informed by the head ANBU what it would mean to be on an ANBU team.

"Shinobi rule four," Kakashi said slowly, "states that the mission comes first. As ANBU, that's paramount given the type of missions we deal with. However…" He shifted, tucking his hands in his pockets, leaning his weight back on his heels. "That's not something I ascribe to. I don't abandon teammates. We go in together, and we come out together if at all possible. And on that note, we work together as a team as well."

Itachi's chin dropped slightly. Even with his face hidden by the mask, Kakashi could tell he was thinking about the exercise he'd just run.

"We're here for each other," Kakashi continued quietly. "There are things we do in ANBU that other shinobi will never know of. And so it's important that we can rely on each other. This isn't a team made up of individual people who are working alongside each other; this is a team of people working _with_ each other."

Pausing on that note, Kakashi shifted towards Itachi, nodding at him. "Welcome to Team Ro, Weasel."

After a pause, Itachi nodded back, stance relaxing.

That was that. Uchiha Itachi was back in ANBU, and Kakashi had another chance at what he'd failed to do last time.

("You don't usually give those types of speeches to new teammates, senpai. Trying your hand at something new?"

("Thought I'd turn over a new leaf. Always good to sprout something new, isn't it?"

("…I don't know you.")

* * *

With the Academy officially having started and Naruto's ANBU guard no longer being a factor, Kakashi noted that Naruto seemed to have taken the initiative to move into his apartment. Or sort of move in.

It wasn't like Naruto had asked. No, Kakashi's first inkling of what was going on was that there were clothes stacked in his closet that weren't his.

They were too small for one thing. The orange color was another giveaway.

The instant ramen packets creeping into his cupboards were another hint. Kakashi had stared at them for a few seconds too long when he first saw them before deciding he didn't need to ask and going for the soup instead. He did buy more vegetables in retribution, stuffing them and a few fruits in Naruto's bag when he wasn't looking.

Then there was the textbook popping up on Kakashi's desk, one that Kakashi certainly hadn't had to open for years. It was thankfully the only textbook. Kakashi couldn't deal with more, especially since he'd actually opened it accidentally one time when groping for something to read. He didn't need to go through the shinobi basics again.

But that was about the extent of it. Naruto still had most of his stuff at his own apartment. It was just that he had some things at Kakashi's place now, since he could spend time there without worrying about the ANBU getting suspicious.

It did mean Kakashi had to remember to buy food for two. Naruto tended to eat with him more often than not now.

And while Kakashi had never actually told anyone how he liked his tea in this lifetime or the other one, Naruto had somehow figured it out and handed him his tea one morning.

Kakashi had eyed it suspiciously, sniffed it, and then had to drink it when nothing pinged his senses. Naruto's amused grin hadn't really helped, although all Kakashi could do was ruffle his hair when he went to get breakfast ready. He'd told Naruto he wasn't allowed to actually cook because he wasn't in the mood to move apartments if Naruto somehow decided to set this one on fire instead of his own.

Naruto's argument that he hadn't actually _intended_ to set his kitchen on fire and that he was older now than he'd been that time did him no favors. He was still banned from doing anything more strenuous than setting the kettle to boil.

These types of mornings were new to Kakashi. Of course, there were those mornings when he was on a mission with his team; the mornings when he and his companions had put together the food they managed to scrounge up, relieved to see the dawning of another day. Yet those mornings didn't compare to this.

There was nothing to fear here. It was quiet and calm, and Kakashi had never had anyone to share his living space with like this before.

He wasn't sure if it would have been like this had he chosen to look after Naruto initially instead of abandoning his duties. Probably not, since Naruto really would have been a child, then. At least Naruto was self-sufficient. It was more like living with another adult – albeit a small one.

Naruto's thoughts were clearly running along the same paths judging from the considering expressions he often wore. Yet he didn't say anything, and Kakashi thought they might leave it at that until Naruto did actually bring it up one Sunday morning.

Kakashi had the day off, having come back from a week-long mission that had required assassinating some important political figures and planting evidence that would point the fingers elsewhere. Entirely routine, boring, and rather disgusting because _politics_. He'd likely go out and train later before continuing to scout out Danzou's base for the final touches.

Naruto probably had something with Sasuke planned; Kakashi hadn't asked.

Kakashi had just set breakfast down on the table when Naruto broke the silence, fiddling with his chopsticks. "Kakashi…I was wondering about something."

Kakashi made an effort at casually picking at his food. He kept his mask on. "Hm?"

"My dad was your sensei, right?" Naruto hadn't looked up once since he started speaking. "So…you must've known my mom, too, right?"

"You know the answer to that," Kakashi said quietly.

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto nodded distractedly. "I just… So you, uh…must've known my mom was pregnant, then? With me," he added unnecessarily.

Kakashi's thumb rubbed along the side of his chopsticks. They hadn't let anyone know, but Kakashi hadn't been "anyone" as Kushina was constantly insisting. So, yes, he'd known. He'd been involved from the beginning, when Minato came to him wild-eyed and beaming, clutching him into an embrace and whispering that _Kushina's pregnant, Kakashi!_ He'd been involved through the entire process of the two figuring out the logistics of how the Yondaime Hokage and Konoha's jinchuuriki could safely give birth without putting anyone in danger.

And then he'd gone and fucked it up by telling Rin's grave without checking that he was actually alone.

"They were so excited," Kakashi finally said. "Minato – he came to me when he found out. He wasn't technically supposed to tell me, but he…"

 _"You're family, Kakashi."_

Letting out a slow breath, Kakashi met Naruto's eyes. "He told me I was family," he continued quietly. "So why shouldn't I know?" He tapped his chopsticks gently against the tabletop for a brief moment before letting them rest. "So yes," he added, answering Naruto's initial question.

Nodding once, slowly, Naruto spun his chopsticks through his fingers like a pinwheel. "What happened afterwards?" he asked eventually. "After…" One hand disappeared under the table, presumably to his stomach.

Naruto wasn't asking the actual question, but Kakashi knew what he was trying to find out. Why hadn't Kakashi taken care of him if they were family?

"I don't have an excuse," Kakashi admitted, voice low. "But…I was fourteen. And I had just lost the last two people I was close to. I was in no condition to take care of an infant, even if Sarutobi had been willing to let me take care of the village's new jinchuuriki with no one knowing what happened to the last one." He kept speaking, feeling like he was slowly peeling off a bandage. "And then…I was in ANBU. When I next turned around, you were almost walking. I told myself you didn't need me; you were doing fine." Naruto had been surviving; Kakashi hadn't expected anything else. "And…" He shrugged, not having anything better to offer. Because he'd been wrong to sink into his own self-pity, ignoring Naruto and telling himself it was for the best.

"By the time I left ANBU," Kakashi said when Naruto didn't say anything, "I was twenty-three. You were nine, about to take the graduation exam for the first time. Making myself known…what would have been the point?"

"What about now?" Naruto asked, voice suspiciously thick. "It's different now, isn't it?"

Kakashi closed his right eye, rubbing a hand through his hair. He'd hoped Naruto wouldn't ask. "I offered," he said quietly, "to look after you after the attack. After the worst passed and it was clear no one knew who you were. But…"

 _"Absolutely not."_

 _"Hokage-sama—"_

 _"You are fourteen, Kakashi. What would it look like to outsiders if Hatake Kakashi was seen taking care of a child so soon after the Yondaime's death? A child who looks like the Yondaime? It's well known that you were his student, that you were close to him. It's a risk we cannot take, not with Naruto as young as he is."_

 _"I am capable of taking care of him."_

 _"Not in this capability. …I'm sorry, Kakashi. But you are forbidden from seeing him."_

And so Kakashi had joined ANBU, cut off from the last tie he had to his old team. Some days he was still surprised that he'd made it through those first years.

"Sarutobi stopped you?" Naruto's voice was quiet. "You're…not allowed?"

"It's an excuse," Kakashi said, "not a reason. I could have found a loophole if I'd tried. I didn't. I joined ANBU instead, was occasionally put on your guard, which was the closest I could be without raising suspicions. It wasn't an assignment I requested often." Not when Naruto reminded him so keenly of all Kakashi had lost. His smile was bitter. "I'm trying now."

Swallowing audibly, Naruto rubbed his hands over his face, letting his elbows rest on the table as his hands sank into his hair. "I wondered," he said, almost inaudible, "why I was so damn _alone_. Why the village hated me. I stopped after a while. Didn't do much good. But…I met Iruka-sensei. Sasuke, Sakura, you. Ero-sennin. It wasn't until later I realized that ero-sennin knew my dad – had been his sensei. That you'd been my dad's student. 'Course, I hadn't known then that the Yondaime was my _dad_ , so I didn't put it together until later.

"That was when…I wondered again why I never saw either of you if you knew my dad. I never asked because why look back at the past?" There was a short laugh, so bitter it had Kakashi flinching. "It's done with, isn't it? Can't change it, so just keep moving forward. Ero-sennin was dead, so I couldn't ask him anyway. And you…you cared. I could see that. So why ask?"

Naruto paused, fingers digging into his hair. "I don't know why I'm asking now," he whispered, shoulders shaking.

Kakashi wasn't sure if Naruto would welcome a touch from him now, so he stayed seated, hands curled into fists on his thighs. "You deserve an answer," he said. "But I don't have one beyond I was wrong and should have tried harder."

"I remember being fourteen," Naruto said. "I don't know what the hell I would've done with a baby. You're a genius, Kakashi, but you can't have been that much different. Maybe…I would've liked it if you'd tried, yeah. If you'd been there." He looked up, giving Kakashi a wobbly smile that hurt his chest. "It could've been a little like this, couldn't it? If the old man had let you see me. Maybe you didn't have to take me in, but he didn't need to do what he did. I would've given anything to have someone there, even as a friend. Let alone a brother."

"I wouldn't have been much of a brother," Kakashi said honestly. "But I would have tried. I'm sorry I didn't."

"It's okay," Naruto said, smiling faintly. "I probably shouldn't say that, huh? But it is. I'm just glad to have an answer. I'm glad that you _are_ here now. That you have been for years. You were there when you could be, Kakashi."

He wasn't, he really wasn't. But this wasn't about Kakashi. He couldn't make it about him.

"Better late than never, hm?" Kakashi said instead, managing a small smile himself.

Naruto's laugh was lighter than it had been before. "Yeah." He sobered, although he was still smiling. "So…does this really make us family now?"

"It's whatever you want, Naruto," Kakashi told him, picking up his chopsticks. The food was doubtlessly rather cold by now, but that didn't matter.

"It doesn't really change anything, you know," Naruto said slowly, smiling wistfully. "You were already family before. Now…I guess it's more? Knowing that maybe you would've been a big brother." His smile widened slightly. "Does this mean I get to call you 'big brother' now?"

Kakashi couldn't stop the small wince. "No."

Naruto was smirking now. "Yeah, didn't think so. Sounds just a little weird. But…" His smirk softened to a gentle smile. "You are family."

"I know." Kakashi pulled his mask down, smiling as well. "So are you."

"Great!" Naruto clicked his chopsticks together. "So I guess you don't mind that I kinda moved in?"

"Usually," Kakashi said blandly, "one asks _before_ moving in."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Ahh…sorry? So…you don't mind?"

"No, Naruto, I don't mind."

"Okay, awesome! Because I had some ideas about redecorating—"

"Eat your food, Naruto."

* * *

Class was so much more boring than Naruto remembered. They were discussing the basic tenets of shinobi, which consisted of the rules that by-the-book shinobi liked to spout. Rules that Naruto had largely never heard of until actually graduating and being put on Team 7.

He'd probably skipped these classes _before_. He was tempted to skip them again this time, but he was still on the fence about how he should perform academically this time. It wasn't something he'd discussed yet with Kakashi as to the details of how one needed to perform in the Academy to be put on teams.

Naruto vaguely remembered something about the entire thing having something to do with test scores, although he didn't remember exactly what it was anymore. Kakashi would likely know, so Naruto would check with him as to how they could really get Team 7 to come together again.

That said, these classes were practically useless. Naruto had absolutely no intention of following any of these rules except for the ones that kind of made sense, like what to do on missions or how to take care of weapons.

And if Kakashi had taught him only _one_ thing (he'd taught Naruto more than one thing, but anyway), it was that teamwork was paramount to anything else. The mission didn't matter if his teammates were captured and he was leaving them behind for dead. One's comrades trumped that, and that was the opposite of what the fourth shinobi rule was preaching. And a few others, but in different phrases.

Yeah, fuck that.

And rule number twenty-five? _Fuck that, too_.

There was nothing wrong with tears. Not if you were happy, not if you were grieving. At some point tears didn't help anymore, but that didn't mean it was _wrong_ to cry.

Naruto wouldn't purposefully burst into tears in front of an enemy shinobi out for his blood, but he wouldn't shy away from it either. He'd cried in front of Gaara. He'd cried in front of Sasuke. It wasn't a weakness.

So…yeah. These introductory classes were useless and Naruto was itching for something else to do.

He couldn't even nap. Sasuke kept poking him awake.

Which meant he was desperately trying to stay awake in class, failing, and then jolting awake every time Sasuke poked him. Or kicked him once it was clear that the poking wasn't doing much good.

By the time Kakashi told him that he needed to do some pranking during Academy hours, Naruto was almost – _almost_ – disappointed about ruining his so-far perfect attendance record. No, he was more excited about the fact that he didn't have to sit through class and that he had a valid reason for not going.

Because he knew that look in Kakashi's eye. It wasn't going to be much longer before the die rolled.

Should he be looking forward to Danzou's death? He was looking forward to dismantling Root, making sure that Sai wouldn't have to go through that horror again. He wasn't entirely sure on Sai's personal timeline, given that Sai hadn't told him much at all even when Naruto asked. No, Sai had insisted that Naruto focus on what mattered; anything else was inconsequential.

Like _hell_ it was.

As far as Naruto knew, though, Sai must have been in Root around this time. He was a little older than Naruto, and Danzou had no qualms about taking in small children.

Yes, Naruto was looking forward to the destruction of Root. But he wasn't sure if he should be looking forward to Danzou's death. He didn't usually like to hate people; it wasn't something that came easy to him.

But…Naruto probably hated Danzou. Danzou hadn't yet ordered the Uchiha massacre or stopped Naruto from heading back to Konoha to fight Pein, but he'd hurt Sai. He'd hurt so many other people.

Was it wrong to want him to die for that? Was Naruto a hypocrite for wanting it? He wanted to break the cycle of violence and revenge. It was why he hadn't killed Nagato when he could; it was why he always tried to save the people he fought, even when it would have been easier to kill them.

Killing Danzou now…it felt an awful lot like taking revenge for things that hadn't happened yet.

But Kakashi was right about what they needed to do. And Naruto _trusted_ Kakashi. There was no one else Naruto trusted as much as Kakashi now, and it was a trust that hadn't failed Naruto yet.

And when everything was done, it was Kakashi who would have to land that final blow. Naruto didn't like that the thought was relieving, that he knew Kakashi wouldn't be nice about it.

Sometimes, Naruto didn't entirely like who he had become.

But it was what it was, and he had a job to do.

* * *

 **We're pretty damn close to Danzou getting his comeuppance. In the meantime, the first few days of the Academy! Where's Iruka? Not here just yet, but he'll be making his debut...eventually. I have thoughts about the structure of the Academy and where Iruka ties in. For now please enjoy the adventures of the history-challenged sensei and his beef with Naruto. *coughs***

 **One of the major issues I've had with _Naruto_ is just...where were the people who _should_ have been there for Naruto? Kakashi was Minato's student and knew about Naruto. Jiraiya...um...stop writing porn and take care of your godson? Leaving aside the issue of Jiraiya for the moment (which is a little more complicated than just writing porn), Kakashi and Naruto finally had a talk that was needed. Kakashi isn't blameless here; I hope that comes across well enough. Kakashi _knows_ he isn't blameless, but he's trying now. Too late, but he _is_.**

 **And in other news, I don't think I'll be able to stick to a weekly updating schedule right now. I'm turning most of my attention to an original work, and that will take up a lot of time. However, I'll be still be doing this one. So updates might not be weekly, but I hope to have them every two weeks at the most.**

 **Thanks so much for all your feedback! I love reading all of your comments and thoughts and reactions to everything that's going on. Thank you!**


	11. Chapter 11

**So, hi! Due to a combination of RL, traveling (so much traveling; I'm all burned out on traveling), and just zero desire to write, I haven't actually finished the next chapter. But since it's been quite a while AND it's Christmas, I'm posting this one! Because who doesn't want to see Danzou get his comeuppance for Christmas? Eh? Eh?**

 **So, uh, yeah, that's what this chapter is. I hope it doesn't disappoint, since I know we've been building up to this. It's also probably not what's expected...**

 **In any case, thanks so much for all the continued feedback and love! I'm so thrilled you guys continue to enjoy this story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

* * *

It was going to happen in two days. Just…two.

Over the last month and a half, Naruto had taken on a random pattern of pranking during and after class time. It wouldn't do to get predictable, after all. Although he'd done his best to hide his tracks and make sure that he wasn't caught.

There was a pattern to be set and a reputation to have, and Naruto was good at making reputations.

He'd missed a few quizzes in the meantime, which had tanked his nonexistent grade so he was now at the bottom of the class. He'd probably have failed those quizzes anyway since they were on the shinobi code and Naruto had set his book on fire the moment he could get away with it.

Kakashi had given him the stink eye for it for days after, having been the one to put the fire out since Naruto had done it in his kitchen. But he also hadn't said anything or replaced it so Naruto was taking it as silent approval.

Good because that book was garbage anyway.

Sasuke didn't really agree, but then Sasuke appeared rather distressed every time he saw Naruto after a class Naruto had skipped. He also had Naruto's homework and made sure to sit with Naruto until he was sure everything was finished.

It was incredibly touching. Naruto would probably be even more touched by it if it didn't interfere so much with his plans.

That said, he still did the homework. Sasuke was a menace when upset. Especially six-year-old Sasuke.

Also, apparently Sasuke wasn't having it with Naruto skiving off classes anymore. He'd glared at Naruto the instant Naruto stepped into the room, and he hadn't stopped giving off mini-murder vibes. It was kind of – no, Naruto, stop thinking that. Sasuke wasn't…whatever that word was.

It was a good thing Naruto was taking today off from pranking. Or maybe not a good thing, since today's class was apparently history. History by the teacher who'd epically goofed up by saying Itachi was the youngest to graduate.

Yeah, Naruto had him pegged. The teacher had him pegged, too. He shot Naruto nasty glares. Nasty glares that Naruto ignored but which Sasuke didn't. He returned the glares. It would have been more effective if Sasuke wasn't so tiny and he had his Sharingan.

That said, Naruto was admittedly still kind of intimidated when Sasuke pulled him to a corner of the fenced off yard that was behind the Academy and proceeded to tell him off for skipping so many classes.

"You're never going to graduate if you keep skipping!" Sasuke insisted, hands fisted at his sides. If he had been anyone else, he probably would have been waving them around. "These classes are important, Naruto!"

"I'm not skipping every class," Naruto said, trying for a calm tone to cool Sasuke down.

From the way Sasuke's cheeks flushed, it failed. "You missed the last three tests Tsuneo-sensei gave us!"

Naruto kicked a clod of dirt aside, folding his arms over his chest. "I would've failed them anyway," he muttered. "I'm not good at that stuff."

For some reason, this had Sasuke deflating, his shoulders slumping. "But you don't _know_. You're good at this, Naruto."

"Really?" Naruto couldn't stop from sounding skeptical. "C'mon, Sasuke. You know I don't understand most of the books we've been reading."

"You _get_ it," Sasuke said. "Even if your explanations are weird and don't follow the book, they kind of make sense."

Naruto tilted his head. "Thanks, I guess?"

"You shouldn't skip class to play pranks," Sasuke said, stepping closer and turning until he was shoulder-to-shoulder with Naruto. "Yeah," he added when Naruto glanced at him in surprise, "I know it's you. Come on; I've been doing them with you, too!"

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto managed a sheepish grin. "You could come with me?"

For a moment Sasuke looked sorely tempted. The expression was gone as quickly as it came. "I can't. Not that I want to," he hastily added. "I'm an Uchiha. I have a reputation to live up to." The words sounded rehearsed.

Naruto didn't say that Fugaku was an asshole. Sasuke didn't need to hear that. He assumed it was an unspoken truth between them, like the sky was blue, grass was green, and Uchiha Fugaku was an asshole.

"You won't have any issues with that," Naruto said instead. "Now…me on the other hand…"

"We're going to be teammates," Sasuke said, hands set on his hips. "So that means you need to be _good_. And I _know_ you're good."

Naruto had to admit hearing Sasuke say that without any coercion was flattering. Now, if only Sasuke knew what he was talking about. "Just because I can hit the bull's-eye with a few kunai and shuriken doesn't actually mean anything."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "You're as good as an Uchiha. As good as _me_."

Naruto blinked. "High praise. You guys have those awesome eyes."

"I don't," Sasuke pointed out. "Not yet, anyway. And brother says you're good, too." He paused, almost like he should have added "so there."

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto searched for an explanation that didn't involve his plans with Kakashi. "I just…it's boring, ya know? And none of that stuff makes any sense, and it's not like the enemy's going to ask us what shinobi rule number fifteen is." He didn't know what shinobi rule fifteen was.

From the pinched expression on Sasuke's face, he didn't exactly remember either. "Well," he said eventually, mulishly, "you still need to pass."

Honestly, Naruto had failed most of his classes _before_ and still managed to graduate. Somehow. He'd scraped by. He could do the same here if he absolutely had to, although he was still unsure if that was the path he needed to take.

It was something he needed to remember to speak to Kakashi about. He kept forgetting in the midst of training, pranking, and trying to sit through the books Sasuke kept insisting he read.

"I know," Naruto assured Sasuke. "And I _will_ pass. There's still time! S'not like any of us are graduating early now, ya know?"

"I still can't believe you _did that_ ," Sasuke groaned, burying his face in his hands.

Naruto laughed, interlinking his fingers behind his head. "Did you see his _face_?"

"I did," Sasuke said, the corner of his mouth ticking up in a reluctant smile. "You're ridiculous."

"I am _not_ —"

"Naruto?"

Naruto broke off, eyes darting to where Sakura was standing several feet to the side. She looked nervous, eyes wide, but her mouth was set in a firm line that he recognized. There was a red bowtie in her hair, tying it back in lieu of the hitai-ate she had yet to earn.

Blinking, Naruto's mouth dropped open, although his voice didn't want to work.

"Naruto?" Sasuke glanced between them, eyebrows furrowed. "Do you know her?"

Sakura's brow pinched, and she seemed like she was about to say something when Naruto got a hold of his voice and blurted out, "S-Sakura!"

Sasuke subsided, taking a small step back. He seemed a little off, but Naruto didn't have the time to see what was wrong.

"Naruto," Sakura repeated, sticking her chin out. "I…I wanted to say I'm sorry. For what my parents did."

"You don't have to apologize for that." Naruto managed a grin, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I do," Sakura insisted, voice wobbling for a moment. "They were – they were so _mean_."

Naruto wasn't going to argue with that. "It happens," was all he said.

Something flashed over Sakura's face. "It shouldn't." Her eyes darted to Sasuke before returning to Naruto. When Naruto glanced over to him, Sasuke was looking at the ground.

"Yeah, well…" Naruto shrugged, pulling at his ear anxiously. He had no idea how to navigate this kind of conversation. It wasn't one that he'd ever had before aside from Sasuke all those months ago. "Can't do anything about it. But, hey, you're here!" He spread his arms out. "Decided you didn't want to be a merchant after all?"

Sakura's eyes widened slightly. "You remembered?"

"'Course I did!" Naruto was briefly offended she even thought he wouldn't. On second thought, no, that made perfect sense. She didn't know him. "We're friends, right?" He could be missing the mark here, but Sakura had called him her friend before the entire fiasco with her parents. Maybe she had changed—

"You still want to be my friend?" Sakura sounded disbelieving. "After what my parents did?"

Naruto tilted his head. "You're not your parents, though, yeah? That wasn't your fault."

"You're too nice," Sasuke muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Naruto to hear.

That was nothing new from Sasuke. He seemed to think Naruto should hold more of a grudge for how the village treated him. Naruto didn't know how to tell him that he was too tired to try, and that he was too old for it to bother him like it had when he was actually five. Besides, holding grudges got one absolutely nowhere.

"I…thank you, Naruto." Sakura quickly rubbed at her eyes. "Yes," she said thickly, smiling at him. "We're friends."

"Great!" Naruto grinned at her. "So…no merchant gig for you?"

"My parents would probably like it if I changed my mind," Sakura said, laughing. A hand went to her hair, only to drop a second later. "But I'm not going to. This is what I want to do."

Sasuke was a silent figure at Naruto's side, but he didn't seem to be actively brooding or sulking.

"What changed your mind?" Naruto asked.

"We were on a trip a few months ago," Sakura said, tucking her hands behind her back. "Bringing supplies to a town a few days away. We do it every year, but this was the first year I went with them." She paused, head tilting back. "There was a kunoichi with us," she continued. "My dad said it was for protection, just in case, but that nothing would happen."

Naruto couldn't stop a snort. "Oh, he jinxed you, didn't he?"

Sakura didn't laugh and agree like she would have if she were older. "There were bandits," she said soberly. "I was…so scared. But the kunoichi…she just moved. And before I knew it, they were taken care of. None of us had been hurt, and it was all thanks to her. She was so… _strong_." She swallowed, dropping her eyes to meet Naruto's. "I remembered what you said – about wanting to be strong. About wanting to protect people. I realized…I want to do that, too. I want to be able to protect people, so that they don't get hurt." Her entire posture had changed, shoulders squared resolutely and eyes gleaming fiercely.

For an instant, Naruto could see the woman Sakura would become overlaying the image of Sakura now. Then he blinked and it was gone, the current Sakura staring at him with determination.

Naruto huffed out a laugh, forcing several quick breaths to keep the tears at bay. "Damn, Sakura. You know what? You're going to be awesome."

The fierce expression faded, giving way to something much shyer and uncertain. "You think so?'

"I don't think so," Naruto said, unable to help a wistful smile. "I _know_ it."

Sakura's cheeks pinked slightly, and she ducked her head. "You – you're a little weird."

The odd statement had Naruto gaping. He said something nice and _that_ was what she said? "H-hey!"

Sighing loudly, Sasuke relaxed next to him. "You get used to it," he told Sakura. He stuck his hand out. "Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura eyed Sasuke's hand strangely, but she took hold of it. "Haruno Sakura."

"I'm not _weird_ ," Naruto protested, glancing between the two of them in appalled fascination. He'd never thought _this_ would happen.

Sasuke shot him a deadpan look. "You are."

Naruto felt a bit like a rock had fallen on his head. He slumped to the ground, bending between his splayed legs until he'd buried his head in the dirt. "We're not friends anymore."

"I guess this means I don't need to eat ramen anymore," Sasuke mused.

"They're calling _me_ weird," Naruto groaned into the dirt, playing up the drama. "As if ramen isn't totally _awesome_."

"How is he so flexible?" Sakura sounded amazed.

"It's Naruto," Sasuke answered, like it was an answer in of itself.

Naruto reached out to grab hold of Sasuke's ankle. "You're just as flexible, idiot."

"Hm." Sasuke pulled his ankle out of Naruto's reach. "Do your parents know?" His voice sounded neutral, but Naruto could read the undercurrent of tension that was there.

"N-no." Sakura's feet shifted slightly. "They don't have to know," she added defiantly. "Not – not if they're going to behave like that. It doesn't make any sense."

A pause, and then Sasuke was speaking again, something else in his tone that Naruto wasn't sure how to read. It almost seemed like jealousy, but that couldn't be right. Sasuke still had his parents, after all. "It doesn't." Another pause, and then Sasuke's foot was nudging Naruto in the shoulder. "C'mon. Tsuneo-sensei's calling us in."

Naruto jumped to his feet, wrapping an arm around Sasuke's shoulders before he could protest or move. Not that Sasuke did; he just went along with it, a longsuffering expression on his face that Naruto knew was for show. He didn't reach out to Sakura, not yet entirely sure where he stood with her, but he did shoot her a friendly grin.

"Back to the daily grind," Naruto chirped.

"If you'd actually _go to class_ —" Sasuke started, aggrieved.

"Hey, hey, I'm going!" Naruto paused, shooting Sasuke a sidelong glance. "Today, anyway," he added swiftly.

He ran into the building before Sasuke could respond. Honesty was usually the best policy, especially when doubled up with a helping of running away.

* * *

The routine of preparing for an assassination mission was reassuring in its familiarity, although some small deviations were made. Especially since the assassination mission was one that required the utmost stealth and forbade leaving behind any sign as to who had done it.

There was no easy way to get at Danzou, not unless he was in his Root base. And even then it wasn't _easy_. But it was certainly easier than it would have been if he'd been around Sarutobi all the time.

Presence hidden from anyone who was looking, Kakashi stopped a short distance away from the Root base. There was no one around at this point aside from some Root agents that were keeping a watch on the entrance.

Reaching back into his bag, Kakashi pulled out a small scroll, unrolling it to reveal a blank stretch of paper. Summoning the slightest bit of chakra to his fingers, he pressed them to the blank paper, leaving behind chakra imprints of his fingerprints.

He rolled it up, keeping it in his hand to wait for a response.

Barely a minute passed before there was one, although it didn't come from the scroll.

Kakashi had asked for a distraction, and Naruto certainly delivered.

There was a smoke cloud from the Hokage Tower, which wasn't accompanied by any fire. When it cleared, the top of the tower continued to smoke like a burnt out candle, and the full extent of Naruto's mischief was on display for everyone to see in a brilliant display of colorful images.

Similar bursts of smoke erupted from other locations in Konoha, including several administration buildings.

Ducking back in the shadows, Kakashi waited for the patrol of Root agents to pass him by. He still didn't move, presence hidden and body calm despite the anticipation humming at the back of his mind.

A distraction was all well and good, but it was useless if it was clear that it was a _distraction_. Naruto was good enough to hide from the shinobi who would be trying to bring him in. In the meantime, Kakashi would wait for a little longer.

It wasn't until he felt the scroll in his hand warm that Kakashi moved, tucking the scroll away. He brought his hands up in a seal, fixing the image of the person he wanted in mind.

A small puff of smoke later, and Kakashi darted forward, slowing as he descended through the top of the Root base. Long black hair tickled his face, but he didn't brush it away.

Landing lightly on his feet, Kakashi straightened, giving the two hapless Root agents standing there enough time to take in just who was standing before them.

The reaction was instant, a clear indicator of how well Danzou trained his agents. "Orochi—"

Kakashi didn't give them time to finish, darting forward in a deadly flash of steel. An instant later, two bodies hit the ground, arcs of blood spraying through the air.

Pausing as if to take in his work, Kakashi turned and entered the tunnel that would take him to Danzou.

Calm, cool, and vindictive. Like he didn't have a care in the world. Like he was _enjoying_ this. Like he was untouchable.

Kakashi knew Orochimaru's mannerisms, even if he couldn't replicate his unique jutsu. But it was enough.

He deftly avoided the next Root patrol, although he made it seem like it was a happy coincidence than anything he did on purpose.

Orochimaru wouldn't hesitate to kill, but Kakashi wasn't so inclined to sink that deep into the role. If there was no other choice…

It wasn't long before the base was alerted to his presence, having discovered the two Root agents he had felled at the entrance. There was a spike in the atmosphere around him, and Kakashi heard the sounds echoing through the hallways. There was nothing distinctive he could make out, the sounds twisted and distorted until they were nothing but meaningless echoes.

The base itself was practically a maze, much like a system of roots. Danzou's organization was well named, although the base had likely come afterwards.

He was just a dramatic and paranoid bastard. A lot of shinobi were so there was nothing new there.

Still, maze or not, Kakashi was a tracker. Placing a hand against the wall, he dragged his fingers along it as he continued walking. It kicked up dust motes and other scent trails, and soon Kakashi had the one he was looking for.

Nose twitching, Kakashi bent his head, letting his mouth curl into a lazy grin. He had no doubt there were cameras around, even if he didn't have the time to check for them.

Winding his way through the corridors and avoiding what Root agents he could, Kakashi soon found confrontation unavoidable. They'd pulled back, regrouping and remaining in close-knit groups.

Still…

He didn't _need_ to be obvious about it, did he?

Pulling back into the shadows and drawing his chakra tightly into him, Kakashi sank into the earth. When he emerged in the room that contained the Root agents, he unleashed a little-used but still extraordinarily useful jutsu that shrouded the entire room in darkness. Perfect for a Nara. Or an assassin who needed to hide.

Closing both eyes, Kakashi let his other senses guide him to his targets, knocking them all out swiftly and in such a way that they would remain unconscious. By the time the darkness of the jutsu dissipated, Kakashi was surrounded by bodies.

Picking his way carefully through them, Kakashi paused briefly to catch Danzou's scent again. He would rather focus on his chakra, but Danzou's office was a sealed off room further in the depths of the base.

Increasing his pace, Kakashi darted through the halls at a fast walk. He avoided the Root agents searching for him. Those he couldn't avoid he took out swiftly and without giving them a chance to see him.

Kakashi's henge was solid, but there was always the slightest chance… He habitually fought with one eye shut to help focus, which wasn't something Orochimaru did. If he didn't pay attention, that could give him away. There weren't a lot of shinobi that fought with one eye shut, that eye being the right.

But as Kakashi came closer to his goal, the behavior patterns of the Root agents changed. They stopped congregating; several split off.

Considering they thought they were up against a Sannin, that didn't seem to be sound tactics…

One agent was close to his position.

Kakashi turned a corner, took several steps, and then ducked under several shuriken. He reached out to catch the next one aimed at his face.

"Halt, intruder!" a female voice snapped.

"How bold of you," Kakashi said slowly, imitating Orochimaru's speech patterns. "Or is it foolish perhaps? I wasn't aware Danzou recruited fools such as you."

"Your farce is up," the agent said, bringing her hands up in the seal of the tiger. "Who are you really, intruder?"

"I'm hurt," Kakashi drawled. "You don't recognize me?" He flicked his gaze to the dark hall behind the agent, noting the hidden chakra signatures waiting.

"You are not the face you wear," the agent answered flatly. "You have one chance."

Shit, how had they…?

Fuck, did they have a Hyuuga in the organization? Kakashi's chakra was just about the only thing he couldn't disguise. He had the scent down from some clothes he'd taken from one of Orochimaru's defunct labs. But chakra? One couldn't imitate that unless one was Zetsu.

Kakashi dropped his head, hands flexing at his sides.

He hadn't wanted to kill these agents. Hadn't wanted to do more than assassinate Danzou with as few casualties as possible. But this? If they had a Hyuuga on hand who'd seen Kakashi's chakra and would see him in the village?

How many knew?

Kakashi didn't know, but he had to assume the worst.

"I suppose Danzou's training is lacking in one aspect," Kakashi said eventually, lifting his gaze to meet the agent's, his Sharingan piercing the darkness of her mask to see her eyes. "What a pity."

"Is that your answer?"

"Such a shame you don't know your betters, girl."

Kakashi didn't wait for another response before striking, darting forward too fast for the agent to respond. She was dead before she hit the ground.

Her backup followed in seconds, Kakashi yanking them out of their hiding place with an earth jutsu.

The last body hadn't even hit the ground yet before he was moving, darting through the corridors as fast as possible. Every Root agent he ran across met a swift end at his blade, the silver metal of the katana he'd brought for this dripping red.

Then there was one that he recognized as a Hyuuga, his Sharingan identifying that familiar chakra swirl in their eyes. He went for them first, dodging their unusually sloppy jyuuken strikes before catching them with his Sharingan. They were dead in the next second, but the damage they'd wrought with their eyes was still in the base.

How many knew?

Kakashi didn't know. He'd killed the Hyuuga; that was the only evidence they had. Unless they had more, but Danzou couldn't have gotten his hands on that many without the clan noticing. One was suspicious enough already, let alone two children going missing.

Kakashi finished with the last of the Hyuuga's group before letting himself stop briefly, hand clenched tightly around the hilt of the bloody katana. The sound of the blood dripping off it was obscenely loud in the silence of the corridor.

As was the terrified breathing just around the corner.

Kakashi turned on his heel, already dreading what he would see. A look with his Sharingan confirmed that the dark-eyed boy huddled in the shadows was Sai.

Shit, shit, _shit_.

Slowly, Kakashi approached Sai, footsteps sounding a death knell. He ran his tongue over his lips, distantly tasting blood.

"Child," Kakashi said slowly, the sound of Orochimaru's voice not as startling as it should have been, "you should be in bed."

Sai's panicked inhalation was loud, but his fear didn't show on his face. He blinked slowly, mouth opening. Then, voice small and trembling, he said, "Bed is at eight."

Something should be funny about that, but Kakashi wasn't sure what. The laugh he let out was more natural than it should have been. "Is that right? So serious for one so young…" He stopped beside Sai, hand close to the boy's head. His other held the bloody katana. "You should know better than to meddle in the affairs of those above you."

Then, before Sai could react, Kakashi knocked him out, catching his limp body.

No one else was around, but he could sense a room not far off with small chakra signatures.

The children…

Keeping Sai tucked under one arm, Kakashi headed in that direction, well aware of the counter at the back of his mind. If alarms hadn't been raised yet thanks to Naruto's distraction, it wasn't going to be much longer before they were.

Hopefully getting out wouldn't be as bloody as getting in had been. Kakashi didn't know how many he'd killed, the bodies running into each other in a faceless blur.

Opening the door to the room, Kakashi allowed himself a quick glance at the dozens of eyes looking in his direction before tossing Sai in, aiming at a larger boy just off to the side.

Shutting it, Kakashi used an earth jutsu to pull up the ground so they couldn't open the door. The masked Root agents were one thing; Kakashi wasn't killing the children.

There was enough—

Kakashi cut that thought off before it could form, closing his eyes and pulling up the mental map of the base he had put together during his reconnaissance. It had been done from above ground through subtle applications of earth jutsu, but it was accurate enough.

The dead spot to his senses not far off was a giveaway anyway.

Flexing his grip on the katana once, Kakashi sheathed it and started running. From one moment to the next, he dove into the ground. He didn't want to run into any other agents, and this was the most foolproof way of doing so. Even if this particular jutsu wasn't really intended to be used as transportation; it was too chakra intensive.

But Kakashi had enough chakra left and his destination wasn't that far away.

There were four Root agents right above him. Kakashi surfaced between two, embedding kunai into their heads before they could react.

The other two agents' attacks were blocked before they met similar ends.

The blood was beginning to spread across the floor when Kakashi approached the sealed door, breathing steady despite the faint edges of exhaustion beginning to tug at him.

Individual Root agents weren't an issue, but there were so many. And as much as Kakashi hated to admit it, he still wasn't in his best shape. Balancing his chakra for jutsu was no longer difficult, but appropriately judging how much chakra he had left now was still difficult given how unbalanced it was.

Inspecting the seals on the door, Kakashi disabled the ones he was familiar with. The ones he didn't…

He pulled out several slips of paper, sticking them on the wall over the seals. Then, stepping back, he activated the seals he had placed. The chakra Naruto had stored in them did a wonderful job of shorting out Danzou's seals, overloading the delicate matrixes.

Kakashi definitely didn't have enough chakra for such a trick, but Naruto had more than enough. And he'd offered.

Opening the door, Kakashi blocked the kunai that was aimed at his head, raising an eyebrow at Danzou.

He didn't know if Danzou had gotten the info from the Hyuuga, but that didn't matter.

"Such a nice welcome present," Kakashi said, casually stepping into the room. "One would think you didn't want me here. It's almost hurtful."

Danzou's visible eye narrowed. "I believe my last message was clear, Orochimaru. There will be nothing more from me."

Kakashi didn't react beyond tilting his head, affecting an injured expression. It…didn't really surprise him that Danzou had relations with Orochimaru. There were few who could deal with the Mokuton, and it had been Orochimaru who experimented on Tenzou.

"A shame," Kakashi said, drawing the words out. "After all I did for you… Is the arm no longer pleasing?"

 _Bingo_.

Danzou didn't react beyond a faint twitch of his facial muscles, which wouldn't have been evident to anyone without a Sharingan. If he'd had any doubt that Kakashi wasn't Orochimaru, that should make him hesitate.

"That was before Hiruzen discovered your actions," Danzou said evenly. "I hadn't thought you would return. Yet here you are. What do you want?"

Kakashi let his hand rest on the hilt of his katana. "You think to bargain with me?"

Danzou's hand on the desk flexed. "You've invaded Konohagakure, killed dozens of shinobi—"

"Shinobi?" Kakashi forced a harsh laugh. "You can't fool me, Danzou. They are pawns to you, nothing more."

"This will be the last move you make," Danzou said implacably. "I am not Hiruzen."

Kakashi drew the katana. "Why do you think I'm here?"

He'd barely taken a step before a trap activated, setting him on fire and destroying the mud bunshin he had used.

Deception being Orochimaru's typical style, it fit in nicely with Kakashi's.

His mud bunshin had barely crumbled before Kakashi was blurring into place besides Danzou, katana swiping down.

Something hard hit him in the stomach, throwing him back into the wall. The impact forced the air out of his lungs. A burst of chakra forced his lungs back into working order.

Kakashi looked up in time to see what looked like a spear of wood aimed at him.

Energy crackled around him before he could think, and he darted forwards, lightning splintering the wood. It was still crackling when he drove his hand into Danzou's right shoulder, piercing straight through it.

Shivering lightly, Kakashi looked into Danzou's eye. Grasping for Orochimaru's cool demeanor, he managed, "I gave you that arm. Do you think I know nothing of how it works? Of how to combat it?

"You're dead, Danzou. You simply haven't realized it yet."

Wood growing didn't technically have a sound. If one burnt it or struck it with lightning, there was both a sound and a smell. But growing wood?

Kakashi's only warning was a surge of nature chakra that was sickeningly familiar, and something clamped tightly around his left hand where it was still in Danzou's shoulder.

Instinctively, before anything else could happen ( _should happen, wasn't Zetsu more coordinated than this?_ ), Kakashi's crackling right hand drove through Danzou's throat.

The resistance around his left hand didn't lighten up even though Danzou was _dead_ – it seemed to be _tightening_ – and Kakashi let loose another burst of lightning, wood cracking loudly as he did, and yanked both hands away. He darted backwards just as chakra flared again, and a fucking _tree trunk_ started to erupt from the mess of Danzou's right arm.

Kakashi registered that it was growing far too fast for him to deal with, that his chakra stores weren't in good enough shape either, and made the executive decision to flee.

On the plus side, there would be no evidence of how Danzou had been killed. And any cameras in his office had also been destroyed, meaning no one would see someone who looked like Orochimaru performing jutsu that were too much like Hatake Kakashi's signature assassination jutsu.

Which, considering the mess the mission had turned into, was just about all the good fortune Kakashi was owed.

* * *

Leaving the Root base was definitely easier than getting in. Kakashi was able to take a hidden exit that wasn't at all visible from the outside. That said, he also couldn't use it from the outside either, which explained why he hadn't found it to begin with.

An entrance closer to Danzou's office would have been a great deal more useful than the one Kakashi had gone through.

But as an exit it was pretty damn helpful, dropping him in a forest that was just outside of Konoha's borders.

That would give Danzou all the needed secrecy to run ops outside of Konoha. And Kakashi hadn't exactly scouted this far out either.

He didn't let the henge drop until he'd left enough of a scent trail to be convincing before he used an inadvisable amount of chakra to send a kage bunshin off to continue the ruse.

Well, he didn't need the Sharingan anymore, so Kakashi could justify the expenditure. Especially since the henge was going, too.

Once it dropped, Kakashi was suddenly viscerally aware of the blood sticking to his skin. He wasn't wearing a mask at the moment, but he was breathing in the metallic scent nonetheless, blood streaked liberally over his face. His hands felt sticky with dried and fresh liquid.

There wasn't any way he could go back to the village like this.

Jumping into the nearest stream was a relief, and Kakashi scrubbed the blood off his skin, tossing the clothes onto the bank and burning them as soon as he could and consequently all evidence of Orochimaru's scent. He pulled out a storage scroll that contained his own clothes, relieved to be back in something that reminded him of who he was.

He wasn't Orochimaru. He was Hatake Kakashi, jounin/Hokage of Konohagakure.

And he needed to get back as quickly as possible.

Dipping his head in the water one last time, Kakashi pulled his mask on and erased all traces of his presence before leaping into the trees. Exiting Danzou's base outside of Konoha had its perks, but also a major drawback in that he wasn't supposed to be out here. At least sneaking back in given the current state of affairs shouldn't be too difficult.

It was just a shame he couldn't use the scroll to let Naruto know he'd been successful. Too much risk of Naruto getting caught with something he shouldn't have and the limited communication capabilities of said scroll had meant they agreed on communicating once each before Naruto would have to leave the scroll behind.

Flipping through the trees, Kakashi inhaled, eyes closing briefly as the memories from his kage bunshin filtered in. It had headed to a known base of Orochimaru's and dispelled itself once certain it was safe.

Anyone following that particular trail would find it leading absolutely nowhere, which was just fine. Kakashi didn't have the faintest clue where Orochimaru was anyway. If this ended up putting the spotlight on the man and making it more difficult for him to set up his own Hidden Village, then it was even better.

Once Kakashi reached Konoha, it was clear that his earlier suspicions had been correct. Between Naruto's pranks and the alarm raised by Root, it was easy to slip into the village and then make believe that he'd been there all along.

"Where the hell is that brat?" a harried chuunin shouted, running right past Kakashi.

"Over there!" someone else shouted. A loud crashing sound and what sounded suspiciously like a dumpster lid falling shut followed soon afterwards.

Kakashi ducked his head, trying not to lose it in a fit of inappropriate laughter.

Instead he jumped for the roofs, taking off in the direction the most chaos was coming from. And where he could make out Naruto's chakra signature.

It was honestly amazing no one had caught Naruto yet. Kakashi didn't know if that was down to Naruto's skills or because the shinobi just sucked that badly. Maybe both? Naruto wasn't even trying that hard.

Kakashi landed on a roof closest to the chaos, seeing numerous shinobi running around with their clothes splattered in various colors. It was a mixture of chuunin and genin, with the occasional jounin thrown in. There was also an ANBU team flitting in and out, clearly irritated with their inability to catch Naruto.

The other shinobi must have been occupied with the Root alarm. Which is what Kakashi technically should have been doing, if he hadn't been "training" when it happened.

Kakashi turned his head, caught sight of a familiar head of blond hair disappearing around a corner, and followed after.

Really, Naruto wasn't even trying, although that could have been because he knew it was Kakashi.

Jumping ahead, Kakashi landed lightly in front of Naruto and snagged hold of the back of his shirt, hauling him up into the air.

"Ahh, you would be the mischief maker today, wouldn't you?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto flailed for a few moments before seemingly resigning himself to his fate. "So what if I am?" He turned his head to the side to look at Kakashi, only for his eyes to widen and his arms to flail again. "Hey, you're the one who knocked me over!"

Kakashi blinked once, taken aback. "Oh?" He leaned in closer, lifting Naruto up a little more, ignoring the irritated mutters from the shinobi who'd noticed Naruto was caught. "Hm. You do look familiar…"

"Yeah, how'd you like that paint!"

Kakashi gave that statement the attention it deserved. Which was nothing. He shifted his grip until Naruto was hanging under his arm. "Why don't I take you to Hokage-sama so he can see what to do about this mess?"

If Kakashi hadn't known Naruto was faking, his disgruntled expression would've had him fooled, too.

* * *

"What do you have to say for yourself, Naruto?"

"Umm…it was totally awesome?"

Kakashi resisted the urge to smile, staring straight ahead at a certain nondescript point over Sarutobi's desk.

Sarutobi glowered at Naruto, frowning deeply. "Do you have any idea what you did?"

Naruto tilted his head to the side, looking every inch the small boy he was pretending to be. "Pranked the hell out of the village?"

Sarutobi's eyes closed briefly. "Your actions today could have had terrible consequences," he said quietly. "You disrupted practically every single working shinobi, taking their attention away from important matters. I don't have the time to deal with you today, Naruto, but I hope you know how disappointed I am in you."

"Oh." Naruto's voice was small. "I…I'm sorry."

"Are you?" Sarutobi sounded weary. "I will have someone"—he gestured to a hidden ANBU—"take you to the Academy, which is where you should have been this morning."

Naruto's shoulders slumped, and Kakashi had the feeling he wasn't faking anymore. When the ANBU stepped forward to take him, Naruto went quietly, head downturned.

Kakashi's gaze followed him out until the door shut and he was left with Sarutobi.

With a slow exhale, Sarutobi turned to Kakashi. "If this is anything to judge by, Naruto should make a splendid shinobi. Thank you for catching him, Kakashi. Given what has been happening…"

"Hokage-sama?"

"Is there a reason you failed to respond to the initial alarm?" Sarutobi asked.

"I was training," Kakashi answered carefully, making sure to keep only curious interest in his body language. He paused, then asked pointedly, "What happened?"

Sarutobi was quiet for a moment, eyes inscrutable. Then, "I have a mission for your team, Hound."

Kakashi stood at attention, pushing aside the looming exhaustion. If he was lucky, he would be able to rest tonight.

* * *

Naruto didn't say anything to the ANBU who dropped him off at the Academy, too busy going over what the old man had last told him.

That he was _disappointed_ in Naruto.

Naruto…Naruto couldn't ever remember the old man telling him that before. That Naruto had disappointed him. Yeah, Naruto had irritated him and probably given him his fair share of wrinkles, but disappointment?

It made Naruto's stomach twist.

Even knowing that he had _intended_ on his pranks having the effect they did didn't help. It wasn't like he'd done it accidentally. Or because he was looking for attention.

He'd succeeded in making a distraction and clearing the way for Kakashi and done so as flamboyantly as possible. He just…hadn't thought it would result in what it did.

It was probably bad that Danzou was dead and all Naruto could think of was the old man being disappointed in him.

"Naruto!" Sasuke sounded ridiculously relieved to see him, and also a little bit frustrated.

Naruto slowly walked over, taking the space Sasuke had next to him. For some reason there wasn't any class, most of the kids huddled up against the wall or sitting on the floor. Sasuke was by himself in a corner, and Naruto slid down the wall until he was sitting next to his friend, hugging his knees to his chest.

"Where were you?" Sasuke hissed, leaning in close. His eyes were on the ANBU talking quietly with Tsuneo. The others were also looking, expressions a mixture of disbelief, suspicion, and fright. "What did you do?"

"You can see it if you look out the window," Naruto mumbled, mouth pressed to his knees.

"That was you?" Sasuke sounded slightly impressed. "Everyone's freaking out; we've been locked in here for safety reasons."

"I think…" Naruto looked up in time to see the ANBU leaving, although he could still sense them nearby. "Something else happened."

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto?" Sakura's voice sounded tentative.

"Hey, Sakura." Naruto managed a small smile when it became clear Sasuke wasn't going to say anything, having just given her a dismissive glance.

Sakura huddled down on Naruto's other side. "Where were you?"

"I just asked that," Sasuke said snippily.

Despite everything, Naruto had to resist the urge to sigh. Seriously…this was the last thing he'd expected when trying to become friends with his old team. Who would've thought Sasuke wouldn't get along with Sakura? She wasn't even a fan girl at this point.

"They didn't just keep us in here because of a prank, did they?" Sakura glanced out the window, eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't think so," Naruto answered slowly, eyes flicking between the two. "I…think something else happened."

"You said that before," Sasuke said. " _What_? How do you know?"

"Just…something the old man said." Naruto dropped his eyes, arms tightening around his legs. "That…I distracted a lot of shinobi because of what I did. It could have been dangerous." He didn't mean to say what he did next, but the words fell out before he could stop them. "He said he's disappointed in me."

Sasuke didn't say anything for a long moment, but he pressed his shoulder to Naruto, presence a reassuring warmth. He knew exactly how much the old man meant to Naruto.

"Why did you do it?" Sasuke asked eventually. "Your pranks have always been small before. This – what you did today is different."

"I wanted to see what I could do." Naruto kept his voice quiet, the words slow to come. "I just…wanted to see, ya know? It's not like they could catch me; I'm too good at running. And I wanted to see how long I could keep it up for. Shinobi need to be sneaky, right?"

"There was nothing sneaky about yelling out your name and saying you're Konoha's number one prankster," Sasuke pointed out.

Naruto's lips twitched at the reminder. "Kinda added a little challenge to it…"

"A challenge?" Sakura squeaked slightly. "You…did you seriously hide from all those shinobi trying to find you?"

"Yeah?" Naruto lifted his head a bit because he _was_ proud of that. "I mean, I had traps laid out beforehand so it'd be easier, but they don't really look for small kids. It's easy hiding. Even with hair like mine…"

"That's why you did it?" Sasuke was frowning. "Because you wanted to see if you could?"

Naruto dropped his chin. "I… Sorta?" He rubbed the fabric of his pants between his fingers. "I just…wanted them to see that I _can_ do it. See…me." He chewed the inside of his mouth, eyes downcast. "I'm not gonna do it anymore," he admitted. "Not…"

"He should be proud of what you did," Sasuke said, rapping his knuckles against Naruto's knees. "You're not even a genin yet, and look at what happened today."

"Ha, yeah…" Naruto managed a weak smile. "But I guess I made things worse, even if I didn't mean to."

"The…old man," Sakura said slowly, sounding hesitant, "who is he?"

"The Hokage," Sasuke answered, glancing at her.

Sakura's eyes widened. "You call the _Hokage_ the _old man_?"

"He is old," Naruto mumbled defensively. "Besides…he doesn't mind."

Sakura was silent for a moment. "Um…wow?"

"Exactly," Sasuke agreed dryly.

"I'm not talking to either of you anymore," Naruto muttered.

"All right," Sasuke said, "I've been wanting to do some sign language."

"Sign language is talking, Sasuke."

Sasuke thought for a moment. "Interpretive miming?"

"Charades?" Sakura suggested.

"That's a good one," Sasuke conceded grudgingly.

Sakura beamed. "Thank you!"

"No." Naruto said the word into his pants, so it came out muffled. " _No_."

There was a giggle from Sakura, and an amused snort from Sasuke, but the two stopped coming up with creative ways to get around Naruto's insincere declaration, sitting in silence by Naruto.

Eventually Sasuke's hand came to rest on Naruto's shoulder, a small form of comfort that warmed Naruto's chest. "It'll be all right," his friend said quietly. "Even if something terrible did happen…it wasn't your fault."

Oh, Sasuke. Sweet, innocent Sasuke. Sasuke at twelve wouldn't have thought that. Hell, any shinobi worth their salt wouldn't take an accident lightly, even if it _was_ an accident.

And Naruto's actions today had been anything _but_ an accident. Even if they had been…shinobi needed to know that actions had consequences, unintended or not.

"I think it was," Naruto said quietly, giving Sasuke a pained smile. "Even if I didn't mean it…it _was_ my fault. Whatever happened…I messed things up, Sasuke."

Neither of his friends had anything to say to that, leaving the silence hanging. And Naruto…Naruto knew he wasn't likely to see Kakashi anytime soon.

Consequences were consequences, but that didn't mean Naruto had to like them.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap for this one! Also, surprise? It wasn't just Danzou in this chapter! I know some of you were asking about Sakura, and I hope this answers some questions.**

 **The fallout of what happened with Root is going to be handled over the next so many chapters. It definitely won't be swept under the rug for these characters.**

 **And...does anyone know if Sai had a codename before getting the name Sai? I've looked but can't find anything. I'm kind of puzzled that his closest friend/brother has a name.**

 **Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! I hope that whatever you celebrate, you have a wonderful time and are safe.**

 **As always, feedback is appreciated!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Yeah, hi, I don't really have any excuses for the year-long absence other than my other projects... In any case, I'm afraid that at the moment I can't promise regular updates because I have two auction fics to write and another story to finish. But after that it should be easier to come back to this one and write more!**

 **I do have _loads_ in store for these characters and SO much more to do that I'm excited to share with you guys. And I'm so thrilled that so many of you enjoy this and what I've been doing. Thank you so much for reading and commenting! At this point I'm not even sure I can reply to all of the comments but I will try. But nonetheless please know that I do read every one of them and I'm always so happy to get feedback on this self-indulgent time-travel fic.**

 **Now, onwards!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

* * *

It was hours later before Kakashi saw a semblance of a break, and by then he was exhausted (thankfully only physically). He'd limited his use of chakra intensive jutsu and hadn't used the Sharingan at all, but he'd had to summon his ninken.

It had been the pack from this time, since they had been somewhat informed as to what happened with Kakashi and Naruto and knew what the plan was with Danzou. Perhaps summoning the ones in the future would have been easier, but Kakashi wasn't going to neglect his pack in the here and now. Even if they would never know exactly _what_ had happened.

Sarutobi had called in all the available ANBU once it was clear that it was no false alarm from Danzou. Kakashi's team had been one of two scouring Root's base, although his hadn't been the one to find the mess of Danzou's office.

No, they'd gone through the subterranean corridors of the base, checking for survivors and leaving the dead where they lay. There were more than Kakashi had realized, and he had to swallow back the memory of what he'd done.

At some point during the infiltration Kakashi had clearly sunk back into instinct, operating on blind bloodlust and uncaring of whom he killed. Considering the blood painting the walls and the bodies carelessly strewn about, this was apparent even to the others.

There wasn't a sound from his team, although they were much grimmer than usual. As expected, Itachi didn't flinch, but he did linger slightly more than necessary at the smaller bodies.

Kakashi didn't look beyond ascertaining that, yes, he had done his job thoroughly. And then they were alerted as to the state of Danzou's office and the disappearance of the man himself, and he took his team to meet with the others.

Danzou's office was a morbid sight even to Kakashi, given that he'd fled before he could be squashed by the tree that had sprouted from Danzou's arm. In fact, just about all that remained of the office was a tree, the roots sprawling out into the area surrounding it. The ceiling was cracked and broken, rubble on the floor, and Kakashi had no doubt that the tree had probably fought its way to the surface.

Yet for all there was a tree, it stunk of Danzou's scent and Kakashi said as much once the question rose as to Danzou's whereabouts.

After a small pause during which everyone seemed to digest the possibility that the tree had been Danzou, the decision was made for Tenzou to report this finding back to Sarutobi while the others continued to look for the culprit.

Given that the culprit was right among them and "helping out," they weren't very successful, except for finding the children still locked in the room Kakashi had found them in.

That had resulted in Kakashi sending Itachi and two other ANBU with them to escort them out of the base and into secure custody. The children had been quiet and mostly blank-faced except for the very young. Sai had been fine, clinging to the side of an older boy with light hair.

It was then that he summoned his ninken to do the more serious tracking after it was clear that the guilty party was gone and the base empty. They sniffed about quickly before catching Orochimaru's scent and taking off, taking the exact route Kakashi had.

But no sooner had they made their way out of the Root bunker did word arrive that the Hokage was recalling the ANBU in light of new information. Such as the two shinobi who had been found at the entrance waking up and claiming it was Orochimaru.

That had led to another debriefing and some rearranging of teams given the supposed involvement of a Sannin, but Kakashi still ended up going out along with several other trackers.

All traces of Orochimaru's scent trail ended at one of his bunkers, everything going cold at that point except for faint tracks that couldn't really be followed. Which led to Kakashi stumbling into his apartment at quarter to two in the morning and falling straight into bed.

Only to get up again in the morning to go to Sarutobi's office with the other ANBU captains. Given what had just happened, Sarutobi wouldn't be speaking to the ANBU as a whole, but rather the captains so they could dispense the necessary information.

At least this time Kakashi wasn't in danger of chakra exhaustion anymore, having slept despite Naruto's absence. Naruto wouldn't be coming over for a time either, not with the heightened village security and the likelihood of guards being posted on him again.

It was what Kakashi would do if he were Hokage now, and Sarutobi was no fool.

"Danzou is dead," were the first words Sarutobi said to them once they were all present. "How is yet to be determined, as there is no body to recover."

Kakashi made a mental note to avoid being injected with the Shodai's genes. Tenzou was doing fine so far, but one never knew. Maybe it was the artificial limb tacked onto a normal body? Madara had something similar, and he was totally batshit insane.

Sorry, Hashirama.

Sure, not leaving a body behind would be nice considering Obito's Sharingan, but Kakashi didn't fancy going the way of Danzou, with his own limbs eating him alive because he lacked the chakra to keep it at bay.

Yeah, he was staying clear of that.

"We have two survivors stating it was Orochimaru," Sarutobi continued. "All others are dead or were incapacitated before they could identify him. The children managed a brief glimpse, but only one could positively identify him after seeing a photo."

That must have been Sai. There was nothing to be done for that, since Kakashi hadn't bothered to use his Sharingan on the boy and wouldn't have done so either. Three witnesses was no worse than two, especially if none were Hyuuga.

"We have no sign of how he managed to infiltrate the village," Sarutobi said soberly. He paused, then sighed. "As expected of him," he added wearily.

"What of what happened yesterday?" one ANBU asked. "With the boy… Is that related?"

"That will be investigated," Sarutobi answered shortly, a moment before his gaze flicked to Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't react, keeping his body language casually at attention.

It didn't come as a surprise to him, although he was unsure what exactly Sarutobi would be doing. And, as much as it pained him to admit it, seeing Naruto for the foreseeable future wasn't going to be an option.

Fortunately it was a possibility they'd considered as an outcome of assassinating Danzou so Naruto should be prepared.

It didn't matter that Naruto was frankly quite terrible at lying. He was excellent at obfuscating and misleading others when necessary, and Kakashi trusted him to do what he needed.

Besides, no one here really _knew_ Naruto.

"In the meantime," Sarutobi continued, "the village is under high alert. It is imperative we find out how Orochimaru was able to infiltrate us and what happened. None of you are to have your teams go alone; if Orochimaru is encountered, call for backup immediately."

It was a good thing Orochimaru hadn't actually been near Konoha at all. Kakashi really didn't fancy going up against a Sannin, especially the one who liked to experiment on himself.

Following several more warnings and rundown about what they needed to do to secure Root's base and be sure all sensitive material was gathered, they were dismissed.

Kakashi wasn't looking forward to the weeks of work ahead of him. Cleaning up after the mess he'd made was one thing, but the resulting paperwork was even worse.

* * *

Forget the paperwork. Kakashi would do just about anything else to get out of doing another patrol to make sure that the village's borders were secure. To get out of another patrol where he could make out the traces of Obito's lingering chakra, since his old friend clearly had nothing better to do than use Kamui to make his way into Konoha and back out.

It was driving Sarutobi and by extension the ANBU nuts, since it was clear that _something_ was getting past the village's protections but they had no idea what.

Kakashi knew exactly what – or rather who – but he wasn't about to enlighten them.

He wasn't in any shape to fight his old friend yet. Because like it or not, he _would_ need to fight Obito at this point before he had any hope of undoing the work Madara had done. For one thing, Obito would run before Kakashi could get more than two words out and those words would be "Obito, wait."

Or "Madara lied" but he didn't think Obito would take that kindly.

But it would probably have a higher chance of stalling Obito for a little bit…

In any case, Obito was best taken on with a team, and Kakashi would prefer Naruto be that teammate. Obito was also best taken on with a functioning Mangekyou. While Kakashi was able to activate his Mangekyou, he wasn't able to use it in a fight just yet.

So that left Kakashi up a creek without a paddle, and he was tired of having Obito's presence rubbed in his face while not being able to do anything about it.

On the other hand, he was relieved that the rest of his plan had gone off without a hitch. The fact that most of Root ended up dead at his hand was unfortunate, but it was something Kakashi couldn't have avoided after the Hyuuga outed him. Those that survived didn't know anything beyond that Orochimaru had infiltrated them with the intention of getting at Danzou.

It was something Kakashi kept telling himself when he woke up at night with the smell of blood in his nose, warm liquid on his hands, and a metallic taste in his mouth.

It didn't really help, but by now Kakashi was used to it.

It was probably just as well that Naruto didn't risk coming by.

And Kakashi didn't really know what was going on with Naruto either, since there were guards on him again and Kakashi wasn't going to risk sneaking by them now.

It was kind of a mess, but it was a mess of Kakashi's making. And it would sort itself out sooner or later.

Kakashi looked down at the white and red ANBU mask in his hand, reminding himself of that little fact. Sarutobi couldn't really justify the heightened village security for that much longer with no further sign of Orochimaru's presence.

Sighing, Kakashi reached up to rub the bridge of his nose, taking a brief moment to indulge himself in a moment of weakness before he needed to put the mask back on again. Only to drop his hand when he felt Itachi's presence approach him, putting the mask on before Itachi dropped down onto the branch beside him.

"Nothing, yes?" Kakashi asked before Itachi could say anything.

"Nothing," Itachi confirmed, his young voice only slightly distorted by the mask.

"As expected from a Sannin," Kakashi noted, beginning to move and keeping his pace relaxed.

"Sandaime-sama isn't expecting to find anything, is he?" Itachi asked a minute later.

"No, he isn't." Kakashi reached a hand up to an upcoming branch, grabbing hold of it and using it as leverage to swing up and around before landing. He waited until Itachi had jumped back to him before continuing. "In case you haven't yet noticed, there are a lot of politics involved in ANBU."

Itachi inclined his head. "Can the same not be said for shinobi in general?"

Although Itachi couldn't see, Kakashi's lips tilted up in a small smile. He did let a small laugh escape. "Unfortunately, yes. I think that's something you're probably more aware of than most."

If Kakashi hadn't been looking for it – if he wasn't who he was – he would have missed the way Itachi stiffened slightly. He pretended that he didn't notice, moving to sit on the branch. The rest of his team was still running the patrol, but Kakashi could afford this.

"So, you're still new," Kakashi continued conversationally, letting his hands come to rest on the bark by him. "Sometimes missions can get a little tough. How has this one been for you?"

"There have been no issues."

"It's not about your performance," Kakashi said, stifling his amusement at the confusion in Itachi's tone. If there was also a hint of sadness accompanying his amusement, Kakashi would be the last to admit it. "That has been exemplary."

"Thank you, taichou."

"I'm more referring to how this mission has been for you personally. There aren't a lot of opportunities for ANBU to talk about their missions, given practically everything we do is solely for the Hokage's eyes and ears. Which essentially just leaves our teammates." Kakashi paused, tilting his head back. "Do you remember what I said your first day?"

Itachi was silent for a moment before he answered, the words slow in coming. "That we are a team of people working with each other?"

"Yes." Kakashi let warmth enter his voice. "A kind of family, if you will. I make it a point to encourage that we do talk to each other when possible. A team is nothing without trust, and I've found that helps."

There was no verbal response from Itachi, but the boy dropped his head.

Kakashi let the silence draw out, feeling no desire to break it, not with Itachi considering his words.

"It has been difficult," Itachi said eventually, quietly. "The children…"

Kakashi let Itachi have his privacy, not looking in his direction. "Missions involving children are usually difficult." He kept his voice gentle.

"Do…you know what Hokage-sama will do with them?"

"I don't," Kakashi admitted, glancing at Itachi. "But if I were to make an educated guess…he's likely to try to include them in the village as much as possible."

"Become shinobi, you mean?"

Kakashi didn't comment on the hidden distaste in Itachi's tone. "Yes."

Itachi was silent for another long moment. Then, "It shouldn't have happened."

"No."

"But it did."

"There are many things," Kakashi said softly, "that happen that shouldn't. All we can do is pick ourselves up and keep moving forward."

"And make things better."

"Well…" Kakashi turned his head to Itachi. "I like to think so."

Itachi's expression was hidden behind a mask, but his determination was clear in his tone as he said, "As do I."

* * *

Outside of ANBU missions, Kakashi hadn't really been seeing much of Tenzou. So it was a bit of a surprise when Tenzou dropped by one of Kakashi's training sessions at the third training ground.

By now the third training ground had seen its fair share of destruction, namely the loss of trees as Kakashi put his jutsu back into working order. Holes in the ground could be mended, but taking care of trees was something else since Tenzou was the only one capable of fixing that kind of damage. And that wasn't his job.

Usually.

In any case, by now most of the shinobi considered the third training ground a bit of a hazard, especially when Kakashi was in it. The only ones who were willing to be there at the same time were Gai and Tenzou, and that was only because Kakashi knew Gai could dodge whatever happened and Tenzou wouldn't disturb him unless it was something important so Kakashi typically stopped whatever he was doing.

So when Kakashi noticed Tenzou approaching, he stopped channeling his chakra and let the water fall back into the lake. The ensuing splash did manage to catch Tenzou and soak him from head to foot, but it wasn't like it hurt him.

Wiping his face, Tenzou shot Kakashi a disgruntled look. "Was that necessary?"

"Was what necessary?"

Scrubbing another hand through his hair to dislodge the excess water, Tenzou clearly gave Kakashi up as a bad job. "Sandaime-sama called off the search."

Kakashi put his hands in his pockets, wondering at Tenzou's point. "We weren't finding anything."

Tenzou grimaced, evidently disgruntled at this. "No. And my services were called elsewhere."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow in a silent bid for him to continue.

"I was…" Tenzou hesitated, frowning. "I was with the boy," he continued in a quieter tone. "Considering my skill set, I was tasked to help…just in case."

Kakashi deliberately kept his posture loose. "Should you be here telling me this?"

Tenzou made a pleading noise. "Kakashi-senpai, if not you, then _who_? This – this is about Orochimaru." He drew his shoulders in, looking unexpectedly small and so unlike the Tenzou Kakashi was familiar with.

Then again…this _wasn't_ the Tenzou Kakashi had last seen. This was the Tenzou of now, several years younger and still growing into his own.

And Orochimaru had always been a sensitive subject for Tenzou.

"You can always talk to me," Kakashi said eventually. "I just can't promise I'll be any good at what you're looking for."

The tension seeping out of Tenzou's form told Kakashi that he had made the right choice.

"That's all right," Tenzou said, smiling weakly. "I'm…not really looking for anything in particular."

Kakashi rather doubted that but he would allow Tenzou the lie.

Tenzou turned to face the water, eyebrows furrowed. "We might have a lead on Orochimaru," he said long moments later. "It's unclear, but it's the best bet we have."

Unease prickled up Kakashi's spine. Naruto didn't know any more than Kakashi did about where Orochimaru was at this point. So how did they get this information?

"There was a boy with Naruto during the months prior to what happened. Naruto claims he was an orphan with him at the orphanage, but we've been unable to locate him." Tenzou closed his eyes. "If he got his hands on another child…"

Ah. _Shit_.

Kakashi definitely hadn't anticipated this when joining Naruto as Sukea. Regardless of whether they thought Sukea was in Orochimaru's pocket or Orochimaru himself, the results didn't look promising for Naruto. Or for their plans for the future if Naruto was put under a more stringent watch to be sure Orochimaru wouldn't try it again.

"Are they asking you to go after him?" Kakashi asked when Tenzou didn't continue

"No," Tenzou answered. "Not yet anyway. But I can't help wondering if they will…" He grimaced. "I don't… I don't know what will happen."

Kakashi slowly came closer, stopping when he was directly next to Tenzou. "You're stronger than you were."

"Not strong enough," Tenzou bit out, eyes squeezed shut. "Not for him."

Kakashi dropped his gaze to the ground, unsure of what exactly Tenzou needed. Strength… Tenzou hadn't been strong enough in the end, yes. He'd been captured, and Kakashi had never found him again.

But then Kakashi hadn't been strong enough either, had he? He never was, not when it mattered.

"The kind of strength you're thinking about isn't all that matters," Kakashi said eventually, quietly. "The kind of strength Orochimaru is looking for… I don't think you want that."

"That's a nice sentiment, Kakashi-senpai." Tenzou's smile was weak. "If not that strength, then what?"

Something Kakashi was still trying to figure out himself. "Strength in your beliefs," he said slowly. "Believing in others; relying on them when you need them. At least…that's what I've learned," he added wryly. "Physical strength is fine, but what does that get you when you're alone? And for all of Orochimaru's strength, he's alone."

Tenzou was silent for a long moment. Then, "I'm not, am I?"

Kakashi didn't answer beyond inclining his head, raising his visible eyebrow.

"It should be fine," Tenzou continued, sounding the words out like he needed to be sure they were real. "He can't – he can't hurt me."

"Well," Kakashi was unable to resist saying, "I'd still avoid running after him alone because he'll kick your ass."

Tenzou's head dropped like someone had tied an anvil around his neck. "Senpai…"

Patting Tenzou's back, Kakashi added, "That said, you're definitely stronger than before!"

The words only seemed to deflate Tenzou further.

Giving a small chuckle, Kakashi let his hand come to rest on Tenzou's back. "I wouldn't worry, Tenzou. Even if they send you after Orochimaru, you won't be alone."

Muscles flexing under Kakashi's hand, Tenzou lifted his head, a small, pleased smile flickering across his lips. "Thank you, Kakashi-senpai." He turned, smile broadening into a fond grin, eyes crinkling. "You're not as bad at this as you think you are, you know."

"It's luck," Kakashi said, smiling wryly. "Don't tell anyone I said that."

"Your secret's safe with me."

* * *

Once Tenzou left, Kakashi put together the sort of plan that he absolutely hated. The type of plan that involved pulling a Naruto and flying by the seat of his pants.

He _hated_ these types of plans. Sure, it was fine if Naruto did them because they somehow tended to work out, but if he had to do them? It didn't actually give him hives, but it rather felt like it did.

Only in this case, Kakashi didn't have time for a meticulous kind of plan. With politics, meticulous kind of plans were the best, but he didn't have the time to consider all the possibilities and results. He could think of quite a few right off the top of his head, but he wasn't a Nara.

That said, this plan did involve a little more thought than Naruto's usual type of impulsive ones. Then again, Kakashi wasn't exactly Naruto and couldn't come up with the exact kind of plan Naruto would. Nor would he want to.

Still, for Kakashi this plan was pretty damn impulsive. Because if something happened to the kage bunshin that was Sukea…

Exhaling slowly, the kage bunshin of Kakashi currently in a henge to look like Sukea watched his actual body disappear into the darkness. Scratching the side of his head, Kakashi briefly allowed his hand to press into his left eye. There was a very slight headache from overusing the hypnotic capabilities of his Sharingan, but it was easily enough ignored.

Obito probably hadn't expected him to use it in this way, but then very little had turned out the way Obito had wanted.

Slowly creeping back into the orphanage that his real body had just left, Kakashi made his way to one of the bedrooms with an empty bed and curled up in it. The other two occupants in the room were sleeping heavily, having only been woken up briefly for the Sharingan to work before being put back to sleep.

Lying awake in the dark, Kakashi stared up at the ceiling and tried to tell himself that this was going to work out fine. So long as he didn't get dispelled…

* * *

No one at the orphanage noticed anything amiss with Kakashi-as-Sukea appearing out of literally nowhere. Granted, there still weren't physical records, but that wasn't too odd.

Tenzou might not have known, but Kakashi was all too aware of how orphans slipped through the cracks in Konoha. It was how Danzou had gotten his hands on so many.

It wasn't right, but it was how things were. Especially after the chaos of the Kyuubi attack, which had seen untold destruction, many records had been damaged and children left orphaned.

Sukea was simply one of them.

Kakashi wandered around the orphanage, eventually settling himself at the base of a tree and cracking open a book he had found in the building. Only to make a face when he saw the stains on the pages and that several pages seemed to be missing.

Well, it wasn't like he was interested in learning about…how to sow and plant seeds?

…That might actually be useful.

Turning back to the first page, Kakashi settled himself in and started reading. He did keep his fingers carefully clear of the questionable stains. He wasn't sure what they were and didn't really want to know.

It could have been food, but then these were kids he was talking about. Food wasn't the only thing they could have splattered the book with.

When the ANBU found him, Kakashi had made it fifteen pages and was considering his potential green thumb. Just about the only thing he'd done before was Mr. Ukki. Destroying Zetsu didn't really count, did it? Zetsu was a plant, but only so much as Kisame was a shark.

Sort of.

"Sukea?"

Kakashi paused, looking up and blinking in surprise. "Yes?" He looked between the two ANBU. "Oh…are you shinobi? You are, right? But you look a little different…"

"We need you to come with us."

Kakashi didn't move, widening his eyes. "Did I do something wrong? Wait, are you going to ask me to be a shinobi?" When one of the ANBU moved to grab him, Kakashi scrambled up, avoiding the grip by pretending to nearly fall over. "I don't want to be one! I want to be a merchant!"

The second ANBU paused. "A merchant?"

"Yeah! It's a simple life; I don't have to worry about being stabbed!" Kakashi paused, holding his book up defensively in front of his chest. "Please don't take me?"

"Sukea's super boring," a child standing just behind the ANBU said. "He doesn't want to be a shinobi, but I do! Can you take me instead?"

"No," the first ANBU answered curtly. Addressing Kakashi, he said, "Come, Sukea."

This ANBU could use a lesson on being personable. Kakashi squinted up at his mask, pegging him as one of the ANBU his actual self didn't really get along with.

"Am I in trouble?" Kakashi asked, channeling every single bit of six-year-old childishness he possessed. It wasn't actually much, but he hoped it did the trick.

There was no answer, but the second ANBU hefted Kakashi up without a word, settling him on his back before taking off.

Kakashi clung on tightly, hiding his face into the ANBU's cloak.

There was some jostling but otherwise the ride was relatively smooth. And then Kakashi was in T&I, clutching at the tattered book he somehow still hadn't lost and clinging to the back of the ANBU who had taken him here.

"Can you get off?" the ANBU asked patiently.

"No." Kakashi clung closer, careful not to strangle the ANBU. Henge or not, he did still have his strength. "Where am I?"

A small pause, and then the ANBU answered, "T&I."

"Oh, I'm going to drink tea with you? You could've just asked!" Grinning, Kakashi unwound his arms and slid down to the ground. "I like tea! Did you know some brands of tea smell like grass? They're not actually grass but they smell like it! And not all of them smell exactly alike but I can never tell the difference. So I guess I shouldn't be a tea merchant, huh?"

"Probably not," the ANBU said after a moment.

"It's a little disappointing, though," Kakashi said, waving his free hand through the air. "I mean, I really like tea! Especially with lots of milk and sugar—"

"Blasphemy," a shinobi off in the corner coughed.

"—because then you can actually drink it and it's not so bad. But maybe I can just sell some tea? And be kind of like a general merchant person? They have that, right?"

This ANBU was fun to mess with. It was just as well the other had gone off to report that Sukea had been found. All his fun would have stopped then and there.

As it was, Kakashi let his chattering come to a halt when Ibiki arrived. He judged the man would be intimidating enough to warrant such a reaction from a normal child.

"Are we going to drink tea with him?" Kakashi asked after a moment, voice a whisper.

There was no visible reaction from Ibiki, although Kakashi could tell the man was slightly amused from how he narrowed his eyes. There was an art to reading Morino Ibiki's body language and moods, and Kakashi had studied it simply so he wouldn't be intimidated by the man.

"My apologies, Morino-san," Kakashi's ANBU said. "He misinterpreted the name of your division."

Kakashi forced himself to reach out and tug at the ANBU's pants. "What – you said 'tea and I' didn't you? Maybe the grammar wasn't right but that shouldn't matter."

"We want to ask you a few questions," Ibiki said, putting a halt to any further conversation on tea.

Which was just as well since Kakashi had exhausted everything he knew on the subject. Anymore and he would have been forced to go on about the different colors and how cool they were. Or maybe coming up with his own kind of tea, did someone want something named after a dog?

No, it was a good thing Ibiki was here. Kakashi would prefer to have the entire affair done with now.

"Questions?" Kakashi made sure to sound curious. "I don't really know anything about shinobi."

"I'll see about that."

They ended up in an interrogation room. Kakashi hadn't been on the opposite end before, although he'd seen Ibiki's work.

Still, his current guise was that of a child. A civilian child. There was only so much Ibiki could do with that.

Unless…

Well, Kakashi would deal with it if it came up.

He did say he hated these types of plans, right? The quick pace of the battlefield was more his taste than the slow churning of political machinations. Even though Hokages had to be good at both, it didn't mean he _liked_ it.

There was a reason he didn't exactly want the hat.

Ibiki broke the silence with a curt question. "What's your name?"

"Sukea."

"No family name?"

"I was orphaned during the Kyuubi attack. No one knows my parents." Kakashi paused. "Are we not going to have tea?"

"No."

Kakashi affected a disappointed expression. "Oh." Then, hesitantly, he offered, "You look like you could use some."

"I will take that under advisement." Ibiki's face was forbidding. "Where were you the last few weeks?"

"In the village."

"Our shinobi found no sign of you."

"I'm…good at hiding?"

"Where were you?"

Kakashi squirmed. "I wasn't at the orphanage, if that's what you're asking."

"Then where?"

"I was…" Kakashi tried to make himself blush but quickly gave it up for a bad job. That kind of acting wasn't his strength. He settled for averting his eyes. "There were nice ladies."

There was no reaction from Ibiki beyond a small silence. Then, "Nice ladies?"

"It was comfortable," Kakashi muttered. "And nicer than the orphanage."

"Did any of the ladies look like this?" Ibiki slid a photograph over the table, eyes sharp.

Kakashi reached out to pull the photograph closer, unsurprised to see a photo of Orochimaru. It was his shinobi registration picture, as they wouldn't have anything else. "Her eyes are cool," he said eventually, playing along with Ibiki's ruse. "Is she your girlfriend?"

There was a definite twitch at the corner of Ibiki's right eye. "I'm asking the questions here."

"Oh, you broke up, didn't you? Sorry." Kakashi didn't much effort into actually sounding sorry, blinking innocently at Ibiki.

The twitch was now at the corner of Ibiki's mouth, which surprised Kakashi for a moment before he remembered that this Ibiki was younger and not as experienced. Oh, this was going to be fun.

They deserved it after making him do this.

"You have no idea who this is?"

"No." Kakashi shrugged. "Should I?"

Ibiki's expression was once again impassive. "What is your relation to Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Relation?" Kakashi sounded bewildered. "I'm not related to him!"

Ibiki sounded like he was spitting his next words out. "How do you know Uzumaki Naruto?"

"He was at the orphanage!" Kakashi gave Ibiki a broad grin. "At least until he left… Did you know he's living on his own now?"

"Impressive," Ibiki deadpanned.

"Is he in trouble?" Kakashi didn't wait for a response before continuing, "No, wait, he did that massive prank, didn't he? Is he okay?"

"Aren't you his friend? Shouldn't you know?"

"Yeah, but he's going to be a shinobi. I'm not. He doesn't have much time anymore."

Kakashi dropped his gaze to the table, only to pause when he saw a splotch of dried blood. He slowly sidled slightly to the side, chair squeaking as he did so. "I haven't seen him," he added forlornly.

There was scarcely warning before Ibiki slammed his hands on the table and loomed threateningly.

Civilian, civilian, _civilian_ —

Kakashi flinched backwards with a startled yelp, nearly toppling the chair over. It would have made it look better but he couldn't risk dispelling. The usual seal that his actual self normally drew on Sukea to lengthen the life of the kage bunshin hadn't been implemented given the risk of them actually asking Sukea to strip down.

"You were nonexistent before we saw you with Uzumaki Naruto," Ibiki said darkly, still looming. "There are no records of you. You were nowhere to be seen in the village in the last few weeks, and you just now appear. If you don't want to talk, we have ways of making you, _Sukea_."

Kakashi kept his breathing fast and panicky, which didn't help keep his thoughts calm as adrenaline surged through his body. "I-I-I don't know what you want!" he managed, glad when his voice came out appropriately shaky. "Is it wrong that I know Naruto?"

"How did you meet Uzumaki Naruto?" Ibiki's voice was foreboding.

"We were at the orphanage together until he moved out!" Kakashi kept a tight hold on the edge of the table, knuckles white. He swallowed loudly, blinking rapidly. "I didn't see him again for a while but he was on a roof and I thought it looked like fun. Why – why can't we have fun together?"

"Why couldn't we locate you before?"

Kakashi didn't answer immediately, pressing his lips together thinly. He kept his breathing quick and short, like a panicking child would. Then, in a voice filled with resentment, he said, "Why would you have? You don't care about us. We're not shinobi; we're orphans in a civilian orphanage. None of us have connections to the large clans of Konoha, and most of us have no idea who our parents were. If we don't find another family, we stay in the orphanage until we're too old or we're kicked out, like Naruto was."

He lifted his chin, forcing an appropriate amount of resentment in his tone. "I didn't do anything wrong," he insisted. "I don't know why you think I did. Naruto is my friend. You're not going to scare me away from him. And if you try to lock me up because you're being a bully, then I'll ruin all your tea!"

Kakashi's words had the intended effect.

Ibiki stared for several long minutes, face serious and foreboding, eyes narrowed in a steely glare. Then, suddenly, like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds, he broke into a sharp grin that would have looked dangerous if Kakashi wasn't familiar with Ibiki's mannerisms.

"All right, kid." Ibiki took his hands off the table, straightening. "You've got some balls. I like that."

Kakashi tilted his head backwards to meet Ibiki's eyes, resisting the urge to grin in favor of glaring. "I'd throw one at your head."

"I'm sure." Ibiki stared at something behind Kakashi, giving a silent signal that indicated the interrogation was over. Once done, he returned his attention to Kakashi. "You could be a shinobi."

"No." Kakashi lifted his tattered book up as a shield. "I prefer plants, thanks. Enjoy your tea and I." He paused, then added, "You don't even _have_ tea, do you? Why is this place called 'tea and I,' then?"

The hapless shinobi entering the room probably had a heart attack at the loud bark of laughter that erupted from Ibiki.

As for Kakashi…well, he was glad that this plan at least went off without much of an issue.

Admittedly, he was now stuck continuing the façade of Sukea being an actual citizen of Konohagakure for longer than initially planned. (He hadn't even had a plan when deciding to use Sukea as a way to spend time with Naruto. This was why he hated doing things like Naruto; it ended up with situations like this.)

Sadly, he also couldn't dispel himself for a while either. There were ANBU on his tail since he wasn't _entirely_ alleviated of suspicion yet. No, Kakashi still needed to play his part a while longer.

Hopefully he would last long enough for that. But then his actual self had been rather generous with his chakra, so maybe he didn't have too much to worry about unless he got into a scrape.

Still holding the disgustingly tattered book on plants under his arm, Kakashi went in search of Naruto. It had been long enough since he'd last seen him and it made sense for a young boy who had just been interrogated on his relationship with Naruto to go seek the other boy out.

Scratching the skin under his left eye, Kakashi didn't linger over the feel of smooth skin where normally there would be a scar. He'd grown used to the sensation after hours spent in this henge, along with maintaining the illusion that he used both eyes instead of just the one.

Finding Naruto was easy, since he was situated in his apartment. The look of surprise on Naruto's face when he saw Kakashi in Sukea's guise was gratifying.

"Sukea!" Naruto's eyes flickered to the area where Kakashi could sense the ANBU lingering. "What are you doing here?"

"I can't see my friend?" Kakashi gave him a gentle smile, eyes crinkling. "I was just asked a lot of questions by a shinobi with scars. I don't think he liked that I knew you."

"I-Ibiki?" Naruto blinked owlishly.

"I think that was his name." Kakashi kept smiling cheerfully. "Do you know he didn't have any tea?"

Naruto blinked again, mouth dropping open. "Tea?"

"Tea," Kakashi confirmed, probably enjoying this just a little too much. "The department's called 'tea and I,' isn't it? It shouldn't be since there wasn't any tea to be found, only a lot of questions."

"Um…" Naruto finally shook his head, seeming to regain his senses. "Yeah, there's no tea there."

"They asked you questions, too, didn't they?"

"Yeah." Naruto hesitated. "I told them about you," he said slowly, eyes scanning Kakashi's henged form, disbelief still painted over his face. "I…didn't know that they'd bring you in." _I didn't know you'd do this._

"Ahh, they just wanted to see who your friend was!" Kakashi's smile stretched into a grin. "It was a little scary, but I'm here now!" He sobered slightly, adding, "I'm still your friend, right?" _You're not alone in this._

"Yeah!" Naruto broke out into an ebullient grin, the sight reminding Kakashi exactly _why_ he had done this in the first place. "You should come in," he added.

"Don't mind if I do."

It was then that Naruto noticed the tattered book in Kakashi's possession. "Is that…a book on plants?"

"Perfect for a merchant, wouldn't you say?"

"Um…isn't that the book that was peed on by—"

"I think I'll just put it here—"

"Don't you dare!"

The offending book went flying out the window, but Kakashi couldn't exactly say he was sorry to see it go. Then again, he was too busy defending himself with a pillow to really protest.

That it coincidentally hit an ANBU on the head was just a bonus.

* * *

 **All right, now how many of you expected that twist? :P I confess I had too much fun with Kakashi's interrogation scene (does it show?). Anyway, ramifications of Danzou's assassination are still coming. This chapter wasn't the longest but I'm trying to have an average word count for these chapters. Unlike some other stories of mine... (Let's see how well I keep to this in the future.)**

 **Ibiki is the same age as Kakashi's physical body, but he's already a high-ranked interrogator. Mind, he's not as good as he is by the time we hit actual canon, but he's good enough to deal with "children," which is why they had him handle Kakashi/Sukea's interrogation.**

 **Feel free to hit me up on tumblr! Username's the same as here. You can also check out my other works, although none of them are _Naruto_. But if you're fans of _Supernatural_ and _Avengers_ I've got another series with that and asexual/aromantic characters. It's well over 700,000 words of reading material so that might tide you over for some time. As well as a _Dragon Age_ one with a demisexual protagonist... (I'm going to stop now.)**

 **Please let me know what you thought! :D**


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